NEURAL MECHANISMS OF CUTANEOUS SPATIAL INTEGRATION

这个项目旨在确定大脑皮层在 灵长类动物手的感觉功能 神经生理学和 心理物理学技术将被用来检查如何体感 系统将空间信息集成在皮肤上。 的贡献 手中的阶段性机械感受器（Pacinian和Meissner小体）， 皮质对运动、纹理、大小、形状和方向的处理 触觉刺激将使用计算机控制的OPTACON进行研究 通常用作盲人阅读辅助的刺激器。 单个 在SI（3b区、1区和2区）、后顶叶（5区）中进行单位记录 和7 b），警觉猴的SII皮层应该揭示了 每个细胞结构区域的空间模式的分析， 条纹、几何形状和字母数字字符、倍数的研究 在同一动物的大脑中， 关于大脑中串行和并行处理的作用 皮层进行特征分析。 实验动物也将接受训练 使用操作性行为技术和积极强化， 辨别特征，如运动方向、条宽和 方向，以及图案形状，以便将信息 由皮层神经元编码为同一动物的实际感官知觉。 在人类身上进行的平行心理物理学实验将允许 人类和猴子受到刺激后产生的感觉。 这些实验解决的具体问题包括：（1）如何 皮层神经元整合手指间隙的刺激运动？ （二） 什么样的皮层机制被用来分辨条纹之间的距离 在纹理图案中？ (3)皮层细胞如何编码大脑皮层的宽度、长度和 在手部或手指上扫描的条形图案的方向？ (4)怎么 激活的机械感受器总数和刺激面积 改变皮层反应 (5)具有多个数字的神经元 感受野整合空间信息？ (6)运动如何影响 取向选择性？ (7)串行和并行的作用是什么 大脑皮层处理触觉信息的通道 （八） 触觉刺激的行为相关性如何改变皮层 运动的形式、方向和方向的表征？ 这些研究 将为触觉信息提供重要的神经生理学数据 大脑皮层的处理能力， 五个不同的细胞结构区域， 两个半球之间的信息。 这些发现可能具有重要意义 临床应用，如开发更多的定量测试， 神经系统疾病或外周神经系统疾病患者的感觉功能 神经损伤，感觉替代的改善有助于 视力和/或听力受损的人。

This project is designed to determine the role of the cerebral cortex in the sensory function of the primate hand. Neurophysiological and psychophysical techniques will be used to examine how the somatosensory system integrates spatial information on the skin. The contribution of phasic mechanoreceptors in the hand (Pacinian and Meissner's corpuscles) to cortical processing of motion, texture, size, shape and orientation of tactile stimuli will be studies using a computer controlled OPTACON stimulator which normally serves as a reading aid for the blind. Single unit recordings made in SI (areas 3b, 1 and 2), posterior parietal (areas 5 and 7b), and SII cortex of alert monkeys should reveal the contributions of each cytoarchitectural area to the analysis of spatial patterns such as stripes, geometric forms and alphanumeric characters, Studies of multiples ares in the same animal's brain will provide important information concerning the role of serial and parallel processing in the cerebral cortex for feature analysis. Experimental animals will also be trained using operant behavioral techniques and positive reinforcement to discriminate features such as direction of motion, bar width and orientation, as well as pattern shape in order to relate the information coded by cortical neurons to actual sensory perception in the same animal. Parallel psychophysical experiments in humans will allow correlation of sensations produced by the stimulus in humans and monkeys. Specific problems addressed by these experiments include: (1) How do cortical neurons integrate stimulus motion across gaps on the fingers? (2) What cortical mechanisms are sued to resolve the distance between stripes in a texture pattern? (3) HOw do cortical cells code the width, length and orientation of bar patterns scanned across the hand or fingers? (4) How do the total number of mechanoreceptors activated, and the area of stimulation on the skin, modify cortical responses? (5) How do neurons with multidigit receptive fields integrate spatial information? (6) How does motion affect orientation selectivity? (7) What are the roles of serial and parallel channels for tactile information processing in the cerebral cortex? (8) How does behavioral relevance of tactile stimuli modify cortical representation of form, orientation and direction of motion? These studies will provide important neurophysiological data on the tactile information processing capabilities of the cerebral cortex, the functional organization of five different cytoarchitectural areas, and the integration of information between the two hemispheres. The findings may have important clinical applications such as the development of more quantitative tests of sensory function in patients with neurological disorders or peripheral nerve injuries, and the improvement of sensory substitution aids for visually and/or hearing impaired individuals.