Methods for Dynamic Causal Interactions in the Developing Human Brain

描述(由申请者提供)：这是NIH K25导师量化研究职业发展奖的修订申请，标题为“人类大脑发育中的动态因果相互作用方法”。在过去的十年里，功能磁共振成像(FMRI)已经成为研究人类大脑功能的强大工具。尽管功能磁共振成像研究主要集中在识别在认知任务执行过程中被激活的大脑区域，但越来越多的人达成共识，认为认知功能的出现是多个大脑区域之间动态的、上下文相关的因果交互作用的结果。因此，设计研究这种相互作用的方法具有重要意义。人脑经历了一个漫长的发育期，了解信息处理背后的因果脑动力学的成熟对于深入了解大脑和认知发展至关重要。这项提议的第一个主要目标是通过开发新的算法来识别分布式大脑区域之间的上下文相关因果交互作用，以满足功能磁共振研究中的一个关键需求。为此，我们将首先开发和验证基于多变量动态系统(MDS)框架的新方法，该框架克服了现有几种研究人脑因果交互作用的方法的主要限制。这项建议的第二个主要目标是使用MDS框架来研究成人感觉-运动和注意加工的动态因果交互作用，以及他们从童年到成年的不同成熟。我建议在这里开发、验证、测试和应用的基于MDS的方法将使我能够第一次研究这些过程，从而更全面地了解人类大脑功能和发育的基本机制。综上所述，这些研究将为研究认知基础的分布式皮质网络提供重要的新方法，并导致对人类大脑功能和发育的基本机制的更全面的理解。与这项研究计划相结合，一项严格的教育和培训计划将填补我在脑部解剖学、认知神经科学、认知心理学和发展心理学知识方面的关键空白。我将得到这些领域的顶尖专家的指导和培训。我还将在设计功能磁共振实验，功能磁共振数据采集和分析，以及在大脑功能和发育的背景下解释功能磁共振结果方面获得重要经验。我的培训计划和研究项目将使我能够获得必要的技能，成为计算、认知和发展神经科学领域的一名成功的独立研究员。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a revised application for an NIH K25 Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award entitled "Methods for dynamic causal interactions in the developing human brain". In the past decade, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating human brain function. Although fMRI research has primarily focused on identifying brain regions that are activated during performance of cognitive tasks, there is growing consensus that cognitive functions emerge as a result of dynamic, context-dependent, causal interactions between multiple brain areas. Devising methods for investigating such interactions has therefore taken great significance. The human brain undergoes a protracted period of development, and understanding the maturation of causal brain dynamics underlying information processing is critical for gaining insights into brain and cognitive development. The first major goal of this proposal is to address a critical need in fMRI research by developing novel algorithms for identifying context- dependent causal interactions between distributed brain regions. To this end, we will first develop and validate novel methods based on a Multivariate Dynamical Systems (MDS) framework that overcomes major limitations of several existing methods for investigating causal interactions in the human brain. The second major goal of this proposal is to use the MDS framework to investigate dynamic causal interactions underlying sensory-motor and attention processing in adults, and their differential maturation from childhood to adulthood. The MDS-based methods I propose to develop, validate, test, and apply here will allow me to investigate these processes for the first time, leading to a more complete understanding of fundamental mechanisms underlying human brain function and development. Taken together, the proposed studies will provide important new methods for investigating distributed cortical networks underlying cognition and lead to a more complete understanding of fundamental mechanisms underlying human brain function and development. In conjunction with this research plan, a rigorous education and training program will address critical gaps in my knowledge of brain anatomy, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology and developmental psychology. I will be mentored and trained by leading experts in these fields. I will also gain critical experience in designing fMRI experiments, fMRI data acquisition and analysis, and interpretation of fMRI findings in the context of brain function and development. My training program and the research project will enable me to acquire skills necessary for becoming a successful independent investigator in the fields of computational, cognitive and developmental neuroscience.