Control of Attention in the human brain studied with real-time fMRI

我们可以有选择地关注环境中的特定位置或特征，即使我们的凝视保持不变，通过移动我们的注意力焦点。这伴随着视觉大脑记录的信号的变化，但人们对它们是否以及如何改变视觉感知和处理知之甚少。在这里，我将探讨一种新的脑功能成像技术，即实时功能磁共振成像技术。功能性核磁共振允许对人脑的神经处理进行非侵入性记录，但通常需要数小时的处理。有了实时功能磁共振成像，我现在可以记录大脑信号，并立即将其反馈给正在接受扫描的受试者。我将用它来教受试者自愿控制视觉大脑特定区域的活动。通过这样做，我可以测试视觉皮质活动的这种变化是否也改变了对视觉信息的感知和处理，从而建立了一种因果关系。此外，我还将研究如何使用这种注意力的实时解码来提供关于受试者希望仅通过思想看向环境或对环境采取行动的信息。这种信号有可能被用来控制因神经系统疾病而瘫痪的患者的“神经假体”。

We can selectively attend to particular locations or features in our environment even when our gaze is kept fixed, by moving our focus of attention. This is accompanied by changes in signals recorded from the visual brain, but whether and how they alter visual perception and processing is poorly understood. Here I will exploit a new development in functional brain imaging known as real-time functional MRI. Functional MRI allows non-invasive recording of neural processing in the human brain, but typically requires many hours of processing. With real-time fMRI I can now record and immediately feedback brain signals to the subject who is being scanned. I will use this to teach subjects to voluntarily control activity in particular regions of the visual brain. By doing this I can test whether such changes in activity in visual cortex also change perception and processing of visual information, establishing a causal relationship. Moreover, I will also investigate how such real-time decoding of attention might be used to provide information about where a subject wishes to look or act on the environment, through thought alone. Such signals could potentially be used to control a 'neural prosthesis' in patients paralysed as a result of neurological disease.