Understanding and promoting plasticity within the human visual cortex

理解和促进人类视觉皮层的可塑性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-05394
• 负责人: Thompson, Benjamin
• 金额: $ 4.52万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=613527
• 关键词: Understanding; promoting; plasticity; within; human

One basic difference between children and adults is that children’s brains have a much greater propensity for change; i.e. children’s brains are more ‘plastic’ than adult brains. Reduced plasticity in the adult brain has direct implications for the learning of new skills and recovery from damage to the brain through trauma, disease or abnormal development. The proposed research will address two key questions: 1) how can plasticity be increased in the healthy adult human brain? and, 2) how and why does human brain plasticity decrease with age? The research will focus on visual brain areas because there is a wealth of neuroscientific data relating to visual cortex development and plasticity in animals that can directly inform research into human brain plasticity. One potential technique for increasing human brain plasticity is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which allows for safe and painless stimulation of the human brain. It has been found that tDCS can reduce neural inhibition within the stimulated brain area. This is important, as inhibition has recently been shown to block plasticity in the visual cortex of adult animals. The proposed research will explore the effect of tDCS on inhibition in the adult human visual cortex using behavioural measures and advanced brain imaging techniques. Furthermore, the effect of tDCS on a basic measure of visual cortex plasticity called long-term potentiation (LTP) will be investigated. LTP involves the repetitive presentation of a visual stimulus. This triggers cortical plasticity that can be measured as a temporary increase in the electrical response of visual brain areas. Finally, the ability of tDCS to enhance learning of a visual task will be tested in adult participants. In a parallel line of research, visual cortex inhibition and plasticity will be measured in children and adults from 5-40 years of age. This study will use LTP and a behavioural measure of inhibition to identify whether the loss of visual cortex plasticity with increasing age is abrupt or gradual and whether it is related to an increase in visual cortex inhibition. The proposed research will have a significant impact in the field of human neuroscience, as it will provide new insights into the fundamental processes that influence learning and the acquisition of new skills. Furthermore, the research may reveal new ways of increasing the rate and capacity of learning in adulthood. This has clear implications for education and training across the lifespan. In the longer term this information will support the development of rehabilitation strategies for the effects of brain injury and abnormal brain development in older children and adults. The proposed research will provide specialized training to at least nine highly qualified personnel in Canada and will provide a foundation for long-term collaborative research in the area of human visual development and plasticity.

儿童和成人的一个基本区别是，儿童的大脑有更大的变化倾向；也就是说，儿童的大脑比成人的大脑更具“可塑性”。成人大脑可塑性的降低直接影响到新技能的学习，以及从创伤、疾病或异常发育造成的大脑损伤中恢复过来。该研究将解决两个关键问题：1)如何提高健康成人大脑的可塑性？2)人类大脑的可塑性如何以及为什么会随着年龄的增长而下降？研究将集中在视觉脑区域，因为有大量与动物视觉皮层发育和可塑性有关的神经科学数据，可以直接为人类大脑可塑性的研究提供信息。