ATTENTION AND TACTILE PROCESSING IN SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

描述（改编自申请人摘要）：注意力和触觉 在躯体感觉系统中进行处理。要求提供资金， 关于理解选择性注意如何影响 躯体感觉系统中的神经元这些研究的主要目的是 确定神经机制的基础形状处理在 躯体感觉系统在本提案中，我们将努力确定如何 关于接触多个位置的边缘的取向的信息 两只手相互作用。该研究建立在我们之前的研究结果的基础上，表明：1） 在第二躯体感觉（SII）皮层中有一个强大的代表， 接触多个手指的边缘的方向; 2）大多数神经元 在SII中，受到动物注意力集中的影响。第一个目标是 确定单个和多个边缘如何在指垫内和跨指垫呈现 相同的和相反的手在体感系统中表示。在 在这些研究中，我们记录了3b，1，2区和SII皮层的神经元， 执行视觉辨别任务的动物，同时 刺激近端、中间和远端趾骨的不同组合 在手指2-4上，具有单个或多个定向边缘。这些 实验将确定边缘信息是如何跨数字集成的。 第二个目标是确定选择性注意如何影响 当呈现单个和多个边缘时的边缘信息的表示 到手上在实验过程中，边缘将被放置在内部和 当动物进行触觉时， 辨别任务。在一些实验中，动物将被训练成 辨别单个边缘的方向，在其他情况下，动物将被 训练比较同时呈现的两个边缘的方向， 双手这些实验将确定选择性注意如何改变 感受野结构的神经元，并将决定是否神经元 在躯体感觉皮层的更高水平上被调谐到连贯的边缘， 跨越多个数字。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from applicant's abstract): Attention and tactile processing in the somatosensory system. Funds are requested to continue our studies on understanding how selective attention effects the responses of neurons in the somatosensory system. The broad aim of these studies is to determine the neural mechanisms underlying shape processing in the somatosensory system. In this proposal, we focus our efforts on determining how information about the orientation of edges contacting multiple locations on the two hands interact. The study builds on our previous findings showing that: 1) There is a robust representation in the second somatosensory (SII) cortex of the orientation of edges contacting multiple digits, and 2) Most of the neurons in SII are affected by the animal's focus of attention. The first aim is to determine how single and multiple edges presented within and across finger pads of the same and opposite hands are represented in the somatosensory system. In these studies, we record from neurons in areas 3b, 1, 2 and SII cortex in animals performing a visual discrimination task, while simultaneously stimulating different combinations of the proximal, middle and distal phalanges on digits 2-4 on both hands with single or multiple oriented edges. These experiments will determine how edge information is integrated across digits. The second aim is to determine how selective attention affects the representation of edge information when single and multiple edges are presented to the hands. During the experiment, the edges will be placed both inside and outside the neuron's receptive field while animals perform tactile discrimination tasks. In some experiments, animals will be trained to discriminate the orientation of single edges, and in others, animals will be trained to compare the orientations of two edges presented simultaneously to the hands. These experiments will determine how selective attention modifies the receptive field structures of neurons, and will determine whether neurons at higher levels in the somatosensory cortex are tuned to coherent edges that span multiple digits.