Multisensory Processing: Plasticity & Accommodation to a Sensory Prosthesis

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究项目的目标是研究终身感觉剥夺的行为和神经后果，并将这些后果与植入感觉假体后神经回路诱导正常功能的可能性联系起来。指导本研究计划的基本假设是：终身感音神经性听力障碍对大脑组织和功能产生深远的多感觉影响。因此，在成年期接受人工耳蜗诱导听力的结果将取决于多感觉皮层的可塑性和加工。在House诊所接受人工耳蜗植入的成人语前聋患者将被纳入实验，使用行为、电生理和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）方法来研究人工耳蜗植入前后的多感官（视觉、振动触觉和听觉）处理。语言和非语言的多感官知觉效应将被研究。对照组为听力正常的成年人。实验将研究：(1)使用行为学方法研究人工耳蜗植入前后的视听语言感知；(2)植入前使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究皮层对振动触觉、视觉和视觉触觉语音刺激的反应；(3)基于行为训练范式的植入后视听与纯听觉的口语学习；(4)利用脑电图（EEG）数据中的事件相关电位（ERPs）检测人工耳蜗植入前后的多感觉视听和视触觉刺激；(5)使用行为、功能磁共振成像和ERP数据进行人工耳蜗植入前后的多感觉事件感知。基于解剖学和功能性MRI约束的ERP数据建模方法将被用于获得皮层活动的高时空分辨率数据，并克服人工耳蜗植入后MRI使用的局限性。将从患者那里获得全面的受试者和设备数据，与实验数据的统计分析结合使用，并创建该临床人群的规范数据库。与公共卫生相关：本项目探讨成人神经可塑性的基本问题。它明确地测试了一种多感官训练方法，这种方法可以推广到其他感官障碍，如失明。该项目将基础科学与正在进行的临床实践和研究生培训相结合。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goals of this research program are to investigate behavioral and neural consequences of lifelong sensory deprivation and relate those consequences to the potential to induce normal function in neural circuits following implantation of a sensory prosthesis. The fundamental hypotheses guiding the research plan are that: Lifelong sensorineural hearing impairment exerts profound multisensory effects on brain organization and function. Thus, the outcome of receiving a cochlear implant to induce hearing in adulthood will depend on multisensory cortical plasticity and processing. Prelingually deaf adults who are cochlear implant patients at the House Clinic will be enrolled in experiments that use behavioral, electrophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methods to investigate multisensory (visual, vibrotactile, and auditory) processing before and after cochlear implantation. Speech and non-speech multisensory perceptual effects will be investigated. Controls will be normal-hearing adults. Experiments will investigate (1) audiovisual speech perception using behavioral methods at pre- and post-cochlear implantation; (2) Cortical activity in response to vibrotactile, visual, and visual-tactile speech stimuli, using fMRI before implantation; (3) Audiovisual versus auditory-only spoken word learning following implantation, using a behavioral training paradigm; (4) Multisensory audiovisual and visual-tactile stimulus detection before and after cochlear implantation, using event-related potentials (ERPs) from electroencephalographic (EEG) data; and (5) Multisensory event perception before and after cochlear implantation using behavioral, fMRI, and ERP data. Modeling methods for ERP data with constraints from anatomical and functional MRI will be used in order to achieve high spatial and temporal resolution data on cortical activity, and also to overcome limitations on the use of MRI following cochlear implantation. Comprehensive subject and device data will be obtained from patients to be used in conjunction with statistical analyses on experimental data and also to create a normative database on this clinical population. Relevance to Public Health: This project addresses fundamental questions about neural plasticity in adults. It explicitly tests a multisensory approach to sensory training that could generalize to other sensory disorders such as blindness. The project integrates basic science with ongoing clinical practice and with graduate student training.