MODULATION OF NEURONAL RESPONSES IN SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

沿着埋藏的皮质可以区分出几个细胞构造区。 在灵长类动物的Sylvain裂隙内，其中包括皮肤刺激 激活第二躯体感觉区(SII)、岛后皮质中的神经元 (RI)、颗粒状脑岛(Ig)和部分7区(7b)。的目标 这个项目是1)确定对这些神经元的最佳触觉刺激 通过定量分析对受控机械的响应来确定皮质部位 刺激包括不同频率的振动触觉刺激；2) 当探头尖端时检测神经元对正弦触觉刺激的活动 当刺激部位被刚性包围时，大小发生变化 感受野首先暴露于条件性机械刺激 不同的频率；3)研究电调制度的影响 SI对SII区神经元反应的刺激；4)记录神经元 行为条件性感知动物的这些区域的反应 不同预期条件下的各种体感刺激。这些 研究可能会进一步界定SII和周围地区的功能 并可能表明为什么灵长类动物的这些区域的破坏会导致 对躯体感觉刺激注意力的改变。

Several cytoarchitectonic areas can be distinguished along the cortex buried within he Sylvain fissure in primates and amongst these, cutaneous stimulation activates neurons in the second somatosensory area (SII), retroinsular cortex (Ri), granular insula (Ig) and a portion of area 7 (7b). The objectives for this project are 1) to determine the best tactile stimulus for neurons in these cortical loci by analyzing quantitatively responses to controlled mechanical stimuli including different frequencies of vibrotactile stimulation; 2) to examine neuronal activity to sinusoidal tactile stimulation when the probe tip size is changed, when rigid surrounds encircle the stimulation site, and when the receptive field is first exposed to conditioning mechanical stimulation of different frequencies; 3) to study the effects of conditioning electrical stimulation of SI on neuronal responses in SII; and 4) to record the neuronal responses in these regions in animals behaviorally conditioned to perceive various somatosensory stimuli under different expectancy conditions. These studies may further define the function of SII and the surrounding areas in somesthesis and may indicate why destruction of these areas in primates leads to alteration in attention to somesthetic stimuli.