Posterior Parietal Contributions to Spatial and Social Cognition

后顶叶对空间和社会认知的贡献

• 批准号: 10705642
• 负责人: Taylor Blaine Wise
• 金额: $ 4.87万
• 依托单位: BROWN UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-15 至 2024-09-14
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10705642
• 关键词: Address; Advisory Committees; Animal Model; Animals; Appointment; Area; Attention; Behavior; Behavioral; Behavioral Paradigm; Biological Sciences; Brain; Calcium; Callithrix; Cognition; Cognitive; Complex; Control Animal; Data; Discrimination; Distant; Electrophysiology (science); Environment; Evolution; Genetic; Genetic Techniques; Human; Image; Impairment; Institution; Investigation; Knowledge; Learning; Literature; Mentors; Methodology; Modeling; Neurosciences; Parietal; Parietal Lobe; Performance; Phase; Postdoctoral Fellow; Primates; Process; Rattus; Research; Rodent; Rodent Model; Role; Shapes; Social Distance; Stimulus; Technical Expertise; Techniques; Technology; Testing; Time; Training; Work; base; career; cognitive function; cognitive neuroscience; cognitive process; comparative; design; experience; frontier; in vivo; information processing; interest; multisensory; neural; neuromechanism; neurotoxic; nonhuman primate; novel; optogenetics; pre-doctoral; pressure; programs; recruit; skills; social; social cognition; social relationships; spatial integration; statistics; theories; tool

PROJECT SUMMARY Abstract cognition is defined as the ability to process information not observed in the physical world, such as time, number, and social relationships. Evolutionary theories posit that selective pressures shaped the mammalian brain to manage increasingly abstract representations by co-opting cortical regions initially required for more concrete cognitive processes — such as spatial cognition — to also support more complex processes — such as social cognition. Research focused on similarities across spatial and social cognition is growing, yet few have investigated the neural bases of these similarities and whether they are similar mechanistically. The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is implicated in both spatial and social cognition, but there are open questions about 1) how the PPC supports spatial and social cognition, and 2) whether and how the PPC is involved in the integration of information across domains. This proposal exploits an underutilized approach in cognitive neuroscience — the ability to study higher cognition using the powerful tools available in rodents. Indeed, as social animals and expert navigators, rats provide an ideal model to expand our knowledge of PPC function and its role in spatial and social cognition. The candidate, Taylor Wise, proposes to build on prior research in the sponsor’s lab by comparing the PPC’s role in spatial cognition with its role in social cognition. Completed dissertation work examined PPC function in spatial information processing and sociality through permanent (neurotoxic) and transient (chemogenetic) inactivation techniques. Rats with compromised PPC function showed spared performance on tasks using simple spatial environments and on tests of social exploration, but showed modest deficits in recognizing complex, context-dependent spatial configurations. This suggests the PPC is selectively recruited in tasks that require processing of information at a higher level of abstraction. Planned dissertation work will shed light on the PPC’s role in spatial and social information processing using a novel behavioral paradigm and cutting-edge technologies for manipulating PPC function. In her resubmission, Taylor provides new data demonstrating rats ability to discriminate spatial distances, a critical piece of her dissertation. Taylor will also receive training in advanced statistics and computation in the F99 phase, paving the way for further training in her K00. This proposal includes a thorough plan for finding a postdoctoral mentor that shares an interest in higher-order cognition, which will help to refine Taylor’s current graduate work. One avenue for postdoctoral research is to identify primate models, possibly marmosets, that are appropriate for neural manipulation of social cognition, and can build upon the Taylor’s rodent expertise. Under the guidance of the sponsor and scientific advisory committee, this training plan will enhance Taylor’s current skills and identify a postdoctoral appointment best prepared to propel her into an independent career in comparative behavioral neuroscience at an academic research institution.

项目概要 抽象认知被定义为处理物理世界中未观察到的信息的能力，例如 时间、数量和社会关系。进化论认为，选择压力塑造了 哺乳动物大脑最初需要通过选择皮质区域来管理日益抽象的表征 对于更具体的认知过程（例如空间认知）也支持更复杂的过程 ——比如社会认知。关注空间和社会认知相似性的研究正在不断增长，但 很少有人研究这些相似性的神经基础以及它们在机制上是否相似。这 后顶叶皮层（PPC）与空间和社会认知有关，但仍存在一些悬而未决的问题 关于 1) PPC 如何支持空间和社会认知，以及 2) PPC 是否以及如何参与 跨领域信息整合。该提案利用了认知领域中未充分利用的方法 神经科学——利用啮齿类动物可用的强大工具研究更高认知能力的能力。确实，作为 社会性动物和专家导航员，老鼠提供了一个理想的模型来扩展我们对 PPC 功能和 它在空间和社会认知中的作用。候选人泰勒·怀斯 (Taylor Wise) 提议以先前的研究为基础 赞助商的实验室通过比较 PPC 在空间认知中的作用和其在社会认知中的作用。完全的 论文工作通过永久性研究了 PPC 在空间信息处理和社会性中的功能 （神经毒性）和瞬时（化学遗传学）失活技术。 PPC 功能受损的大鼠显示 在使用简单空间环境的任务和社会探索测试中表现不佳，但显示 在识别复杂的、依赖于上下文的空间配置方面存在适度的缺陷。这表明 PPC 是 有选择地招募需要在更高抽象级别处理信息的任务。计划 论文工作将利用一种新颖的方法阐明 PPC 在空间和社会信息处理中的作用 用于操纵 PPC 功能的行为范式和尖端技术。泰勒在重新提交的材料中 提供的新数据证明了老鼠辨别空间距离的能力，这是她论文的关键部分。 泰勒还将在 F99 阶段接受高级统计和计算方面的培训，为 她的 K00 进一步训练。该提案包括寻找一位博士后导师的全面计划 对高阶认知的兴趣，这将有助于完善泰勒当前的研究生工作。一条途径 博士后研究的目的是确定适合神经系统的灵长类动物模型，可能是狨猴 操纵社会认知，并且可以建立在泰勒的啮齿动物专业知识的基础上。在该局的指导下 赞助商和科学咨询委员会，该培训计划将提高泰勒当前的技能并确定 博士后任命最有利于推动她在比较行为学领域独立从事职业生涯 学术研究机构的神经科学。