Methods for Dynamic Causal Interactions in the Developing Human Brain

描述（由申请人提供）：这是NIH K25指导定量研究职业发展奖的修订申请，题为“人脑发育中动态因果相互作用的方法”。在过去的十年中，功能磁共振成像（fMRI）已经成为研究人类大脑功能的有力工具。尽管fMRI研究主要集中在识别在执行认知任务时被激活的大脑区域，但越来越多的人认为，认知功能是多个大脑区域之间动态、情境依赖、因果相互作用的结果。因此，设计研究这种相互作用的方法具有重要意义。人类大脑经历了一个漫长的发展期，了解信息处理背后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。本提案的第一个主要目标是通过开发新的算法来识别分布的大脑区域之间依赖于上下文的因果相互作用，从而解决功能磁共振成像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元动力系统（MDS）框架的新方法，该框架克服了研究人脑因果相互作用的几种现有方法的主要局限性。本研究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相互作用，以及它们从儿童期到成年期的差异成熟。我在这里提出的开发、验证、测试和应用基于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，所提出的研究将为研究认知背后的分布式皮层网络提供重要的新方法，并使我们对人类大脑功能和发育的基本机制有更全面的了解。与这个研究计划相结合，一个严格的教育和培训计划将解决我在脑解剖学、认知神经科学、认知心理学和发展心理学方面的知识缺口。我将接受这些领域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获得在计算、认知和发展神经科学领域成为一名成功的独立研究者所必需的技能。

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.