Information & Hierarchical Organization in the Neural Systems for Working Memory

信息

• 批准号: 8103994
• 负责人: SUSAN M COURTNEY-FARUQEE
• 金额: $ 45.54万
• 依托单位: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-07 至 2014-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8103994
• 关键词: Address; Anterior; Area; Behavior; Behavioral; Brain; Brain region; Code; Cognition; Cognitive; Color; Dependence; Dependency; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Goals; Health; Impaired cognition; Impairment; Individual; Lateral; Lead; Link; Location; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Maintenance; Measures; Medial; Memory; Mental disorders; Mission; Modeling; Multiple Sclerosis; Parietal; Parietal Lobe; Pattern; Performance; Population; Prefrontal Cortex; Prevention; Process; Research; Rewards; Role; Sensory; Short-Term Memory; Signal Transduction; Stimulus; System; Temporal Lobe; Testing; Time; Update; base; cognitive function; cognitive system; executive function; healthy volunteer; information processing; nervous system disorder; neural patterning; neuromechanism; programs; relating to nervous system; research study; response; theories; white matter; white matter damage; young adult

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our long-term objective is to understand the neural mechanisms that enable currently relevant information to optimally influence cognition and behavior. As the next step in achieving this objective, the goal of this proposed project is to test the hypothesis that the neural system for working memory (WM) is information-domain-dependent and hierarchically organized. We propose that items, such as objects, words, and locations, are represented at the lower levels of this hierarchy while information about relationships among these objects and with potential responses and rewards is represented at higher levels of this hierarchy in more anterior regions of the prefrontal cortex using similar neural mechanisms for both types of information. We will test this hypothesis using functional and anatomical magnetic resonance imaging in healthy young adults, and individuals with multiple sclerosis. We will measure the effects of memory load, repetition, and updating on the fMRI activation magnitude and pattern, directly comparing these effects for item vs. relational information. fMRI functional connectivity during WM for items will be contrasted to functional connectivity during WM for relations to ascertain whether interactions among prefrontal areas and between prefrontal areas and sensory areas are different for these different information types. The necessity of these interactions will be tested by using DTI tractography in individuals with multiple sclerosis to test whether WM performance for items depends on the integrity of different white matter tracts than does WM for relational information. The study aims to test whether a conceptual link can be identified between working memory maintenance of items, such as objects, locations, and words, which has been extensively studied, and "executive control" functions, which are much less well understood. This goal is highly relevant to the mission of the agency because these higher cognitive functions are disrupted in many mental disorders and neurological diseases. Without a clear understanding of the neural systems that make these abilities possible, we have little to offer for treatment or prevention of cognitive dysfunction. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This study will enhance our understanding of the brain mechanisms and systems that enable us to remember currently relevant information so that it can help guide goal- directed behavior. This understanding will help guide future research to develop treatments for impairments in these abilities.

描述（由申请人提供）：我们的长期目标是了解使当前相关信息最佳地影响认知和行为的神经机制。作为实现这一目标的下一步，本项目的目标是测试工作记忆（WM）神经系统依赖于信息域和分层组织的假设。我们认为，物体、单词和位置等信息在这一层次结构的较低层次上被表征，而关于这些物体之间的关系以及潜在的反应和奖励的信息则在前额叶皮层的较前区域的较高层次上被表征，这两种信息使用类似的神经机制。我们将在健康的年轻人和多发性硬化症患者中使用功能和解剖磁共振成像来验证这一假设。我们将测量记忆负荷、重复和更新对fMRI激活幅度和模式的影响，并直接比较项目信息和关系信息的影响。将功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）对项目进行脑记忆过程中的功能连通性与脑记忆过程中对关系的功能连通性进行对比，以确定对于这些不同的信息类型，前额叶区域之间以及前额叶区域与感觉区域之间的相互作用是否不同。这些相互作用的必要性将通过在多发性硬化症患者中使用DTI神经束造影进行测试，以测试WM对项目的表现是否取决于不同白质束的完整性，而不是WM对相关信息的表现。这项研究的目的是测试是否可以在工作记忆维持（如物体、位置和单词）和“执行控制”功能之间识别出概念上的联系，这些功能已经得到了广泛的研究，而“执行控制”功能却知之甚少。这一目标与该机构的使命高度相关，因为这些高级认知功能在许多精神障碍和神经疾病中受到破坏。没有对使这些能力成为可能的神经系统的清楚了解，我们几乎无法提供治疗或预防认知功能障碍的方法。公共卫生相关性：这项研究将增强我们对大脑机制和系统的理解，使我们能够记住当前相关的信息，从而有助于指导目标导向的行为。这种理解将有助于指导未来的研究，以开发这些能力受损的治疗方法。