MODULATION OF NEURONAL RESPONSES IN SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

沿着埋藏的皮层可以区分出几个细胞结构区 在灵长类动物的大脑外侧裂中， 激活第二躯体感觉区（SII），岛叶后皮质的神经元 (Ri)颗粒状的球状体（IG）和区域7的一部分（7 b）。 的各项目标 这个项目是1）确定最佳的触觉刺激神经元在这些 通过定量分析对受控机械刺激的反应， 刺激，包括不同频率的振动触觉刺激; 2） 检查神经元活动的正弦触觉刺激时，探头尖端 当刚性环绕物环绕刺激部位时， 感受野首先暴露于调节机械刺激， 3）研究条件电刺激的作用 刺激SI对SII中神经元反应的影响;以及4）记录神经元反应， 在动物的这些区域的反应，行为条件，以感知 在不同的期望条件下的各种躯体感觉刺激。 这些 研究可以进一步确定SII和周围地区的功能， 这可能表明为什么灵长类动物这些区域的破坏会导致 对躯体感觉刺激的注意力改变。

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.