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.

项目总结 抽象认知被定义为处理物理世界中没有观察到的信息的能力，例如 时间、数字和社会关系。进化论认为，选择的压力塑造了 哺乳动物大脑通过结合最初需要的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。专注于空间和社会认知相似性的研究正在增长 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。这个 后顶叶皮质(PPC)与空间认知和社会认知有关，但仍存在疑问。 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 跨域的信息集成。这项建议利用了一种未得到充分利用的认知方法 神经科学-使用啮齿动物可用的强大工具研究高级认知的能力。事实上，作为 社会动物和专家导航员，大鼠提供了一个理想的模型，以扩大我们对PPC功能和 它在空间和社会认知中的作用。候选人泰勒·怀斯建议在之前的研究基础上 赞助商的实验室通过比较PPC在空间认知中的作用和它在社会认知中的作用。已完成 论文工作考察了PPC在空间信息处理中的作用和通过永久性 (神经毒性)和瞬时(化学发生)灭活技术。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、依赖于背景的空间配置方面存在适度的缺陷。这表明购买力平价是 被选择性地招募到需要在更高抽象级别处理信息的任务中。计划中的 论文工作将阐明PPC在空间和社会信息处理中的角色，使用一个新的 操纵购买力平价功能的行为范式和尖端技术。在她的重新提交中，泰勒 提供了新的数据，展示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 在她的K00继续训练。这项建议包括一个全面的计划，以寻找一个博士后导师，分享 对高阶认知的兴趣，这将有助于完善泰勒目前的研究生工作。一条途径是 博士后研究是确定适合神经的灵长类动物模型，可能是绒猴。 操纵社会认知，并可以建立在泰勒的啮齿动物专业知识的基础上。在国际足联的指导下 赞助商和科学咨询委员会，这项培训计划将增强泰勒目前的技能，并确定一个 博士后任命最好是为推动她进入比较行为学的独立职业生涯做好准备 在一家学术研究机构从事神经科学研究。