Visual Spatial Attention and Excitability of Visual Cortex

视觉空间注意力和视觉皮层的兴奋性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-05811
• 负责人: Mickleborough, Marla
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=681299
• 关键词: Visual; Spatial; Attention; Excitability; Cortex

Screentime. Your visual system is constantly bombarded with visual inputs, from smartphones, computer screens, and televisions. Advertisements are specifically designed to grab your attention moment-to-moment. Even as you watch the news on television a newsfeed scrolls across the bottom of the screen, constantly updating you with even more news. While you surf the internet bright flashing ads pop up in the visual periphery, trying to draw you in. Given all these visual stimuli constantly vying for your attention, how does your brain decide when to attend, when to ignore, and when to allow attention to wander off completely? My research strives to understand these issues and to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of attention, from a cognitive neuroscience approach. This large scale, long-term program of research will include three research themes to be investigated over the next five years. Under my supervision, each research theme will be led by a graduate student in collaboration with other graduate and undergraduate students. *******All research themes will focus on the neural mechanisms underlying attention by studying people with migraine headache. This test group is of interest because migraineurs are known to have hyperexcitable visual cortex in between headache attacks, and we are interested in understanding how this cortical hyperexcitability influences attentional processing and what this might tell us about the neurobiology of attention. *******In the first research theme, which will encompass years 1-5, we will assess the impact of hyperexcitable visual cortex on activation of the attentional network. We will use neuroimaging techniques functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERP) - to assess attention to repeated stimuli using paradigms to study sensory habituation, cognitive habituation, and repetition suppression. In the second research theme, which will encompass years 3-5, we will assess how visual cortical hyperexcitability influences mind wandering and activity in the default network. We will use fMRI and ERP to assess activation during the rest between active tasks and mind wandering during an active task. In the third research theme, which will begin in year 5, we will assess how visual cortical hyperexcitability impacts the relationship between reading and attention. Using fMRI, we will combine visual orienting and reading to study the interaction between reading and attention.*******My program of research is designed to provide elite training in neuroimaging techniques (fMRI and ERP) for undergraduate and graduate students in a collaborative setting. The overall goal of the research is to understand how cortical hyperexcitability might alter attentional processing and use this information to develop a comprehensive neurobiological model of attention.**

我来放映。你的视觉系统不断地受到来自智能手机、计算机屏幕和电视的视觉输入的轰炸。广告是专门为吸引你的注意力而设计的。甚至当你在电视上看新闻时，新闻提要也会在屏幕底部滚动，不断向你更新更多的新闻。当你在网上冲浪时，视觉边缘会弹出明亮的闪烁广告，试图把你吸引进来。考虑到所有这些视觉刺激不断地争夺你的注意力，你的大脑如何决定何时参加，何时忽略，以及何时让注意力完全偏离？我的研究致力于从认知神经科学的角度来理解这些问题，并理解注意力的神经生物学机制。这一大规模的长期研究计划将包括未来五年要调查的三个研究主题。在我的指导下，每个研究主题将由一名研究生与其他研究生和本科生合作领导。*所有研究主题都将通过研究偏头痛患者来关注潜在的神经机制。这个测试小组很感兴趣，因为众所周知，偏头痛患者在头痛发作之间有超兴奋的视觉皮质，我们有兴趣了解这种皮质超兴奋是如何影响注意力处理的，以及这可能会告诉我们什么关于注意力的神经生物学。*在第一个研究主题中，将包括1-5年，我们将评估过度兴奋的视觉皮质对注意网络激活的影响。我们将使用神经成像技术功能磁共振成像(FMRI)和事件相关电位(ERP)来评估对重复刺激的注意力，使用研究感觉习惯化、认知习惯化和重复抑制的范式。在第二个研究主题中，将涵盖3-5年，我们将评估视觉皮质超兴奋性如何影响默认网络中的走神和活动。我们将使用功能磁共振成像和事件相关电位来评估活动任务休息期间的激活和活动任务期间的走神。在将于第五年开始的第三个研究主题中，我们将评估视觉皮质超兴奋性如何影响阅读和注意力之间的关系。使用功能磁共振成像，我们将结合视觉定向和阅读来研究阅读和注意力之间的相互作用。*我的研究项目旨在为协作环境中的本科生和研究生提供神经成像技术(功能磁共振成像和ERP)方面的精英培训。这项研究的总体目标是了解大脑皮层的超兴奋性如何改变注意力的处理，并利用这一信息开发一个全面的注意力神经生物学模型。