Neural Basis for Spatial Cognition

项目摘要/摘要 研究计划描述了一系列实验，这些实验将检验空间信息是如何 在哺乳动物的大脑中进行处理。在以前的研究中，一组神经元被识别为 哺乳动物核丘脑前部海马构造轴的放电作用 动物的头部方向(HD)，与动物的行为和空间位置无关。这 空间信号提供了一个模型系统，用于检查初级感觉信息如何进入 通过不同的感觉通路，被转化为代表 生物体与其环境的空间关系。实现这一目标的机制 中枢神经系统的变化尚不清楚。第一个目标包括四个实验 它旨在确定如何从已知的感觉输入中导出和处理HD信号。 研究将集中在脑干和哺乳动物核的皮质下区域。第二个目标是 确定在内侧嗅觉皮质产生网格细胞信号所涉及的大脑区域。这个 第三个目标是研究参与产生HD信号的两个皮质下脑区的作用 在执行路径集成空间任务时。总而言之，这些研究将提供对空间 信息是在大脑中组织和处理的，它将增强我们对 HD细胞在导航过程中的功能作用。这一结果将对人类健康和 行为。对于老年患者和阿尔茨海默病患者来说很常见，阿尔茨海默病通常是一种疾病 与边缘系统结构的明显病理相关，经历空间定向障碍 需要持续监督的程度。了解空间信息在大鼠体内的处理方式 大脑将为我们提供关于人类空间过程的复杂性质的线索。

Project Summary/Abstract The Research Plan describes a series of experiments that will examine how spatial information is processed in the mammalian brain. In previous studies a population of neurons was identified within the mammillary nuclei  anterior thalamus  hippocampal formation axis that discharge as a function of the animal's head direction (HD), independent of the animal's behavior and spatial location. This spatial signal provides a model system for examining how primary sensory information, entering through various sensory pathways, is transformed into a "higher level cognitive signal" representing the organism's spatial relationship with its environment. The mechanisms that accomplish this transformation in the central nervous system are not known. The first aim contains four experiments and is designed to determine how the HD signal is derived and processed from known sensory inputs. Studies will focus on subcortical areas in the brainstem and mammillary nuclei. The second aim will determine the brain areas involved in generating the grid cell signal in medial entorhinal cortex. The third aim addresses the role of two subcortical brain areas that are involved in generating the HD signal in performing a path integration spatial task. In sum, these studies will provide insight into how spatial information is organized and processed in the brain and will enhance our understanding of the functional role of HD cells during navigation. The results will have implications for human health and behavior. It is common for elderly patients and patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a disease often associated with marked pathology in limbic system structures, to experience spatial disorientation to the extent that constant supervision is required. Learning how spatial information is processed in the rat brain will give us clues about the complex nature of spatial processes in humans.