Understanding the brain mechanisms that regulate attention to auditory memory

了解调节听觉记忆注意力的大脑机制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-05523
• 负责人: Alain, Claude
• 金额: $ 3.72万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=709766
• 关键词: Understanding; brain; mechanisms; regulate; attention

Human oral communication is constrained by our ability to “hear” a speaker even in the presence of other noise, whether that be other people talking or other sound sources (e.g., music, mechanical engine sounds). Doing this often requires a sort of replay of what a person just said by going back in one's mind to those spoken words still accessible in short-term memory. That is, the sounds just heard, but no longer present, become the object of our attention. We know that selective attention influences what we remember, and that it is easier to understand a familiar talker than an unfamiliar one. However, we do not fully understand the brain mechanisms that allow us to attend to sounds in short-term memory nor do we know how existing memories bias that attention. The aims of this research program are to: (i) characterize the neural architecture that allows people to focus their attention to auditory memory; (ii) determine how brain processes differ when listeners are reflecting on the when, what, or where of the sound just heard; (iii) examine how attention to memory enhances processing of degraded speech; (iv) characterize how long-term memory steers attention; and (v) identify how information in long term memory is integrated with ongoing perceptual processing in adverse listening conditions. All studies include healthy young adults and implement a careful combination of behavioral, computational, and brain imaging techniques in order to map out the time course and brain areas involved in these processes. Top-down attention to short-term memory is studied using what is called a delayed match-to-sample paradigm. In such tasks, a (retro)cue telling participants which item(s) to maintain in memory (internally oriented attention) appears after the stimulus array is presented. We predict that attention to memory will engage a widely distributed neural network of brain regions that include the auditory cortex and regions important for focusing attention. The interplay between attention and auditory long-term memory is investigated using a learning paradigm designed to create a strong association between two auditory stimuli. We anticipate that existing contextual memories will bias attention and optimize perception by re-activating brain areas originally involved during learning. The results will allow us to advance models of attention by taking into account the proper and changing balance of attending to events from our internal and external worlds. Determining how attention is allocated to auditory memory can guide the development of training regimens to improve attention in normal populations across the life span and also in people within brain damage, medical conditions and/or learning disabilities which affect their ability to attend to memory.

人类的口头交流受到我们“听到”说话者的能力的限制，即使存在其他噪音，无论是其他人说话还是其他声源（例如音乐、机械发动机声音）。这样做通常需要通过回想起短期记忆中仍然可以访问的那些口头单词来重播一个人刚刚说过的话。也就是说，刚刚听到但不再存在的声音成为我们关注的对象。我们知道，选择性注意会影响我们的记忆，而且理解熟悉的说话者比理解不熟悉的说话者更容易。然而，我们并不完全了解让我们在短期记忆中关注声音的大脑机制，也不知道现有的记忆如何偏向这种注意力。该研究计划的目的是：（i）表征使人们能够将注意力集中在听觉记忆上的神经结构； (ii) 确定当听者思考刚刚听到的声音的时间、内容或地点时，大脑处理有何不同； (iii) 研究对记忆的关注如何增强对退化言语的处理； (iv) 描述长期记忆如何引导注意力； (v) 确定长期记忆中的信息如何与不利聆听条件下持续的感知处理相结合。所有研究都包括健康的年轻人，并仔细结合行为、计算和大脑成像技术，以绘制出这些过程中涉及的时间进程和大脑区域。使用所谓的延迟匹配样本范例来研究对短期记忆的自上而下的关注。在此类任务中，在呈现刺激阵列后，会出现一个（复古）提示，告诉参与者要在记忆中保留哪些项目（内部导向注意力）。我们预测，对记忆的注意力将涉及广泛分布的大脑区域神经网络，其中包括听觉皮层和对集中注意力很重要的区域。使用旨在在两种听觉刺激之间建立牢固关联的学习范式来研究注意力和听觉长期记忆之间的相互作用。我们预计现有的情境记忆将通过重新激活最初在学习过程中涉及的大脑区域来偏向注意力并优化感知。研究结果将使我们能够通过考虑关注内部和外部世界事件的适当和不断变化的平衡来推进注意力模型。确定如何将注意力分配给听觉记忆可以指导训练方案的制定，以提高正常人群整个生命周期的注意力，以及脑损伤、健康状况和/或学习障碍影响记忆能力的人的注意力。