Neural time-integration underlying higher cognitive function

高级认知功能背后的神经时间整合

• 批准号: 7589647
• 负责人: Alexander C Huk
• 金额: $ 37.11万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-04-01 至 2013-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7589647
• 关键词: Address; Area; Attention; Behavior; Behavioral; Brain; Brain region; Cells; Characteristics; Cognitive; Complex; Decision Making; Delayed Memory; Discrimination; Eye Movements; Goals; Human; Level of Evidence; Link; Location; Maintenance; Measurement; Memory; Monkeys; Motion; Motor; Neurologic; Neurons; Performance; Photic Stimulation; Physiological; Primates; Process; Property; Prosthesis; Ramp; Reporting; Research; Rewards; Robotics; Role; Saccades; Sampling; Sensorimotor functions; Sensory; Short-Term Memory; Signal Transduction; Stimulus; Testing; Time; Visual; Work; cognitive function; computer framework; design; expectation; flexibility; lateral intraparietal area; nonhuman primate; oculomotor; oculomotor behavior; public health relevance; relating to nervous system; research study; response; stimulus interval; visual memory; visual stimulus

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this research is to understand the basic neural computations that transform sensory signals into representations that support cognitive processes and guide subsequent actions. The research proposed here tests how signals flowing through the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) underlie processes of accumulating and remembering sensory evidence for the purposes of guiding eye-movements. We approach this topic by adapting a computational framework derived from previous work using a direction-discrimination paradigm, and extending it to a wider range of behavioral tasks, experimental phenomena, and theoretical approaches. Our primary goal is to test the degree to which the persistent and ramping activity in LIP reflects neural time-integration, and how this computation relates to sensory stimulation, working memory, and oculomotor planning. Our secondary goal is to better integrate the quantitative inferences available from the direction-discrimination paradigm and time-integration hypothesis to other work on oculomotor computations. We have previously demonstrated that neural activity in area LIP reflects the temporal accumulation of noisy sensory evidence during the performance of a motion direction decision- making task. Because LIP activity is driven strongly by the onset of such a visual target, it is necessary to test whether temporal integration in LIP depends on the presence of a visual stimulus within the response field. We will also assess the cognitive role of persistent activity in LIP. If the persistent activity in LIP supports the combination of multiple pieces of evidence acquired at different times, LIP activity during interleaved periods of stimulus viewing and working memory should reflect the time integral of the sensory evidence. We will test this hypothesis by incorporating a blank memory delay period between successive periods of sensory evidence, and evaluating whether activity during the delay period reflects the accumulated and maintained level of evidence. We will further investigate the relationship between LIP activity and cognitive function by performing a similar task in which two stimuli must be compared, instead of combined. In short, we will manipulate sensory, cognitive, and motor variables to assess the degree to which LIP activity appears to support time integration when: (1) visual stimulation of the response field is manipulated; (2) successive periods of accumulation and maintenance of sensory evidence occur; and (3) the specific eye-movement is not known during the formation of a decision. These measurements will also provide several opportunities to appreciate cell-by- cell diversity in sensory, memory, decision, and motor responses. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Primate behavior is intelligent, flexible, and complex. These behavioral strengths often derive from the ability of human and nonhuman primates to combine multiple pieces of evidence acquired at different times. A thorough understanding of how the brain performs this "temporal integration" will benefit neurological treatments, as well as inform technical applications involved in the control and design of intelligent prosthetics and robotics.

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的长期目标是了解将感觉信号转换为支持认知过程并指导后续行动的表征的基本神经计算。本文提出的研究测试了流经外侧顶内区（LIP）的信号如何构成积累和记忆感官证据的过程，以指导眼球运动。我们通过采用来自以前工作的计算框架，使用方向歧视范式，并将其扩展到更广泛的行为任务，实验现象和理论方法来处理这个主题。我们的主要目标是测试LIP中持续和斜坡活动反映神经时间整合的程度，以及这种计算与感觉刺激，工作记忆和视觉规划的关系。我们的第二个目标是更好地整合方向判别范式和时间整合假设的定量推论，以其他工作的oculecontracts计算。我们先前已经证明，在LIP区的神经活动反映了运动方向决策任务的执行过程中噪声感觉证据的时间积累。由于LIP活动强烈驱动的发病这样一个视觉目标，它是必要的，以测试是否在LIP的时间整合取决于存在的视觉刺激内的反应领域。我们还将评估持续活动在LIP中的认知作用。如果LIP中的持续活动支持在不同时间获得的多个证据的组合，则刺激观看和工作记忆交错期间的LIP活动应该反映感觉证据的时间积分。我们将通过在连续的感觉证据期间加入空白记忆延迟期来测试这一假设，并评估延迟期间的活动是否反映了累积和维持的证据水平。我们将通过执行类似的任务来进一步研究LIP活动和认知功能之间的关系，在该任务中，必须比较两种刺激，而不是组合。简而言之，我们将操纵感觉、认知和运动变量，以评估LIP活动在多大程度上支持时间整合：（1）操纵反应场的视觉刺激;（2）感觉证据的连续积累和维持;（3）在决策形成期间，特定的眼动是未知的。这些测量还将提供几个机会来欣赏细胞在感觉，记忆，决策和运动反应方面的多样性。灵长类动物的行为是聪明的，灵活的，复杂的。这些行为优势通常来自人类和非人类灵长类动物联合收割机将不同时间获得的多个证据结合起来的能力。彻底了解大脑如何执行这种“时间整合”将有利于神经治疗，并为涉及智能假肢和机器人控制和设计的技术应用提供信息。