MRC Transition Support Award CSF Tomoki Arichi

这项研究的目的是了解在子宫早期生命的关键阶段和出生前后对大脑的损伤如何导致终身大脑功能障碍。此时，大脑中控制身体运动方式的特定区域受到损害，可能会导致脑瘫，导致终生困难，如肢体瘫痪或痛苦的不受控制的运动。目前还没有治愈脑瘫的方法，可能是因为对大脑及其活动实际上是如何发展出控制身体在生命早期阶段如何运动的能力缺乏基本的了解。重要的是，尽管目前的医学测试(如脑部扫描)可以识别婴儿的脑损伤，但他们不能准确地确定这些婴儿中的哪些会在童年后期发展为脑瘫。这意味着不能一看到受伤就开始治疗，家庭往往会有几个月的压力不确定。我们知道，人类生命的早期阶段对控制运动的大脑和身体系统的发育非常重要，因为即使在怀孕的最早阶段，也可以看到和感觉到婴儿在子宫内活动。出生后，它们继续以看似随机的方式运动，直到6个月大时，它们开始做出更清晰、有控制和有目的的运动。此外，我们的研究表明，即使在这个早期阶段，大脑也可以通过简单的学习来改变它控制运动的方式。这一切都很重要，因为在生命的这个关键早期阶段，人类大脑在大小、形状和结构上经历了比以往任何时候都更剧烈的变化，因此它的活动如何演变也必须发生巨大的变化，才能实现这些新的运动模式。因此，研究计划使用机器人设备和高精度传感器等专业技术来精确测量婴儿(子宫内外)的运动方式，然后使用大脑扫描来识别和定位伴随的大脑活动。我将研究这种变化是如何随着婴儿在头6个月的成长而变化的，并探索早期脑损伤对这种关系的影响。我还进行了研究，以了解大脑活动和运动是如何通过轻轻刺激婴儿而通过学习而改变的。总而言之，这些研究结果将为大脑如何在第一年成熟并控制运动提供新的重要见解。这些基础知识将帮助医生和科学家了解如何努力确保早期大脑的健康发育和运动。它还将帮助他们诊断、潜在地预防和治疗影响儿童运动控制的脑瘫等疾病。

The goal of the research is to understand how injury to the brain during the crucial stages of early life in the womb and around the time of birth can lead to life-long difficulties with brain function. Damage at this time to the specific areas of the brain which control how the body moves in particular, can result in cerebral palsy, leading to life-long difficulties such as limb paralysis or painful uncontrolled movements. There is currently no cure for cerebral palsy, perhaps due to a basic lack of knowledge about how the brain and its activity actually develop the ability to control how the body moves in the earliest stages of life. Importantly, although current medical tests (such as brain scans) can identify brain injuries in babies, they cannot accurately identify which of these babies will develop cerebral palsy later in childhood. This means that treatments cannot be started as soon as an injury is seen and that families are often left with several months of stressful uncertainty.We know that the earliest stages of human life are important for the development of the brain and body systems that control movement as even during the earliest stages of pregnancy, babies can be seen and felt to be moving inside the womb. After birth, they continue to move in a seemingly random way until 6 months of age when they begin to make clearer controlled and purposeful movements. In addition, our research suggests that even at this early stage, the brain can alter how it controls movement through simple learning. This is all important as in this crucial early period of life, the human brain is undergoing more dramatic changes in size, shape, and structure than at any other time, and therefore there must also be enormous changes in how its activity evolves to allow these new patterns of movement.The research therefore plans to use specialist techniques such as robotic devices and highly accurate sensors to precisely measure how babies move (both inside and outside the womb) and then identify and locate the accompanying brain activity using brain scanning. I will study how this changes as a baby grows during their first 6 months, and explore how the relationship is affected by early brain injury. I have also carried out studies to understand how brain activity and movements are altered through learning by gently stimulating the babies. Together, the results of the studies will provide new and important insights about how the brain matures through and then controls movements in the first year. This fundamental knowledge will help doctors and scientists understand how to try and ensure healthy brain development and movements in early life. It will also help them to diagnose, potentially prevent and treat conditions like cerebral palsy which affect the control of movement in children.