Integrating Sense of Direction in Cortical Control of Navigation

提案编号：0702057提案标题：在导航的皮质控制中整合方向感PI名称：SI，Jennie Pi研究所：亚利桑那州立大学这项研究的目的是研究一组特定的感觉运动整合任务，以获得对基于认知的导航控制的基本理解。这种方法是从丘脑前核和运动区同时记录行为大鼠的情况。所提出的行为装置由一个定向控制的机器人车辆组成，老鼠可以通过按下三个相应的杠杆中的一个来左右或直线前进。在每次试验开始时，车辆被预先设置为在偏向的方向上移动，这需要老鼠的杠杆控制进行一系列纠正才能到达目的地。这项拟议的工作还试图对来自感觉和运动区的神经信息如何与基于认知方向的导航控制相互作用和影响进行建模和解释。智力上的优点。随着科技的进步和相关学科知识的快速发展，研究高阶认知的神经机制才成为可能。这项拟议的研究是向理解熟练动作迈出的具体一步，这需要复杂的感觉运动整合。由于大多数研究都集中在特定的线索引导的运动上，这项拟议的工作有可能开辟新的天地，并通过慢性神经记录获得定量和神经生理学证据，为复杂的运动控制系统提供认知视角。依靠基于认知的导航和控制，新的脑机接口可能成为可能。

Proposal Number: 0702057Proposal Title: Integrating Sense of Direction in Cortical Control of NavigationPI Name: Si, Jennie PI Institution: Arizona State UniversityThe objective of this research is to study a specific set of sensory motor integration tasks to gain fundamental understanding of cognition based navigational control. The approach is to chronically record from the anterior thalamic nucleus and the motor areas simultaneously in behaving rats. The proposed behavioral apparatus consists of a directionally controlled robotic vehicle which the rat can steer left, right, or straight ahead by pressing one of three corresponding levers. At the start of each trial, the vehicle is preset to move in a biased direction that requires a sequence of corrections from the rat's lever control to reach a destination. The proposed work also attempts at modeling and interpreting how neural information from sensory and motor areas interact and impact on one another in relation to the cognitive direction based navigational control. Intellectual merit. The ability to study neuronal mechanism of high order cognition has just become possible with technological advancement and the fast developing knowledge from relevant disciplines. The proposed research is a concrete step to break the ground toward an understanding of skilled movement that requires sophisticated sensory motor integration.Broader impacts. As most of the research has focused on specific cue-directed movements, the proposed work has the potential to break new ground and provide a cognitive perspective of the complex movement control systems with quantitative and neurophysiological evidence obtained through chronic neural recordings. New brain machine interfaces may become possible relying on cognition based navigation and control.