Retention and generalization of cross-sensory recalibration in hand perception

学习一项新的运动技能涉及到我们如何感知周围世界和我们如何感知身体部位之间的复杂互动。例如，学习使用计算机鼠标需要将屏幕上的光标与大脑对手的表示联系起来。这个项目将研究身体表征中这种变化的潜在过程，如何随着时间的推移保留变化，以及它们如何推广到其他背景下。这对于任何涉及修改身体表示的应用尤其重要，例如当使用假肢设备或在虚拟现实中移动时。例如，结果应该为在工业、军事或医疗环境中培训技术人员操作远程机器人接口提供基础，以便学习到的身体表示的变化随着时间的推移保持稳定，从而操作员在未经训练的活动中能够快速适应。这位调查员还将赋予学生探索STEM职业的能力：印第安纳波利斯一个大型且多样化的学区将为高中女生提供免费的虚拟夏令营--“有神经的女孩”，并在学年期间亲自参观实验室，对所有学生开放。与运动本身的变化相比，很少有人研究技能学习过程中大脑对身体的表征的变化。这个项目的一个重要创新是使用身体位置感觉(本体感觉)和视觉信号来测试身体表征的变化，身体位置感觉(本体感觉)来自肌肉中的传感器，视觉信号来自观看自己移动的身体。来自多个来源的感觉信号的整合(多感觉整合)是大脑的基本属性。通过一系列触觉和知觉实验，研究人员将确定对技能学习至关重要的身体表征更新的多感官因素。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Learning a new motor skill involves complex interactions between how we perceive the world around us and how we perceive the parts of our body. For example, learning to use a computer mouse involves linking a cursor on a screen to the brain’s representation of the hand. This project will examine the processes underlying such changes in body representation, how changes are retained over time, and how they generalize to other contexts. This is particularly important for any application that involves modification of the body representation, such as when using prosthetic devices or moving in virtual reality. For example, the results should provide a basis for training technicians in industrial, military, or medical settings to operate a telerobotic interface so that the learned changes in body representation remain stable over time and so the operator can quickly adapt when in an untrained activity. The investigator will also empower students to explore STEM careers: a free virtual summer camp, “Girls with Nerve,” will be offered to high school girls from a large and diverse school district in Indianapolis, along with in-person laboratory visits during the school year that are open to all students.Changes in the brain’s representation of the body during skill learning have been little investigated, compared with changes in the movement itself. An important innovation of this project is to test changes in body representation using both body position sense (proprioception), which arises from sensors in the muscles, and visual signals, which arise from viewing one’s own moving body. Integration of sensory signals from multiple sources (multisensory integration) is a fundamental property of the brain. Through a series of reaching and perception experiments, the researchers will determine the multisensory factors that contribute to the updates in body representation that are important for skill learning. Results will inform a theoretical framework of sensorimotor control that accounts for both multisensory perception and motor learning.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.