Neural mechanisms for landmark-based navigation

基于地标的导航的神经机制

• 批准号: 8437704
• 负责人: RUSSELL A EPSTEIN
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-03-01 至 2016-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8437704
• 关键词: Address; Alzheimer' s Disease; Animals; Area; Biological Preservation; Brain region; Code; Cognition; Cognitive; Communications aid for the blind; Complex; Development; Diagnosis; Disease; Environment; Exhibits; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Goals; Health; Hippocampus (Brain); Human; Individual; Individual Differences; Knowledge; Laboratories; Location; Maps; Nature; Neurodegenerative Disorders; Pattern; Performance; Positioning Attribute; Recovery; Relative (related person); Research; Retrieval; Route; Signal Transduction; Space Perception; Stimulus; Structure; System; Testing; Vision; Visual; Work; base; behavior test; indexing; innovation; neuroimaging; neuromechanism; neuropsychological; programs; public health relevance; rehabilitation strategy; relating to nervous system; theories; way finding

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A fundamental aspect of our existence is the fact that we move through space. We do not do so randomly~ rather, we use a variety of different strategies to efficiently reach our navigational goals. One such strategy is landmark-based piloting, which is the use of stable topological features to determine one's location and orientation relative to the enduring spatial structure of the world. The current proposal describes a research program in which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and cognitive behavioral testing are used to understand the neural mechanisms that underlie landmark-based piloting. Previous neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies, including several from our laboratory, have identified a network of brain regions that might be critical. These include the parahippocampal place area (PPA), the retrosplenial complex (RSC), and the hippocampus. However, the precise way in which this network implements this function remains unclear. We will use recent technical innovations for the study of neural representation-multi-voxel pattern analyses (MVPA) and fMRI adaptation (fMRIa) - to test the idea that this network can be fractionated into functional subsystems tied to three cognitive mechanisms: a landmark-recognition mechanism, a spatial orientation mechanism, and a cognitive map. More specifically, Aim 1 will test the hypothesis that the PPA encodes fixed landmarks and local spatial coordinate frames that are anchored to these landmarks. Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that RSC supports recovery of location and facing direction relative to global (beyond-the-horizon) coordinate frames. Aim 3 will test the idea that the hippocampus encodes a cognitive map, by characterizing the spatial code indexed by a recently-discovered hippocampal distance signal. If successful, this research will result in a detailed theory of the neural basis of landmak-based piloting. This knowledge will have important health implications in two domains. First, understanding the mechanisms that underlie landmark-based piloting is critical for the development of rehabilitation strategies and navigational aids for the blind. Second, because the brain regions investigated are often impacted early in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's dementia, the knowledge gained about these systems will be useful for diagnosing and managing these diseases.

描述(申请人提供)：我们存在的一个基本方面是我们在太空中移动的事实。我们这样做不是随机的，相反，我们使用各种不同的策略来有效地实现我们的导航目标。其中一种策略是基于地标的试点，这是利用稳定的拓扑特征来确定一个人相对于世界持久空间结构的位置和方向。目前的提案描述了 一项研究计划，其中使用功能磁共振成像(FMRI)和认知行为测试来了解基于里程碑的飞行员背后的神经机制。之前的神经成像和神经心理学研究，包括我们实验室的几项研究，已经确定了一个可能至关重要的大脑区域网络。这些区域包括海马体旁区域(PPA)、脾后复合体(RSC)和海马体。然而，这个网络实现这一功能的确切方式仍不清楚。我们将使用神经表征研究的最新技术创新-多体素模式分析(MVPA)和功能磁共振自适应(FMRIa)-来测试这个网络可以细分为与三种认知机制相关的功能子系统的想法：地标识别机制、空间定向机制和认知地图。更具体地说，目标1将测试PPA编码固定地标和固定在这些地标上的局部空间坐标框架的假设。目标2将检验RSC支持相对于全球(地平线外)坐标框架恢复位置和朝向的假设。目标3将测试海马体编码认知地图的想法，通过表征由最近发现的海马体距离信号索引的空间代码。如果成功，这项研究将产生陆地飞行的神经基础的详细理论。这一知识将在两个领域产生重要的健康影响。首先，了解基于里程碑的驾驶的机制对于制定盲人康复战略和导航辅助工具至关重要。其次，由于所研究的大脑区域通常在阿尔茨海默氏症等神经退行性疾病的早期受到影响，因此获得的关于这些系统的知识将有助于诊断和管理这些疾病。