Multisensory Processing: Plasticity & Accommodation to a Sensory Prosthesis

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究计划的目标是调查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诱导神经回路正常功能的潜力联系起来。指导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刻的多感官影响。因此，成年后接受人工耳蜗植入以诱导听力的结果将取决于多感觉皮层的可塑性和处理。在House Clinic接受人工耳蜗植入的语前聋成年人将参加使用行为、电生理和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）方法的实验，以研究人工耳蜗植入前后的多感觉（视觉、振动触觉和听觉）处理。将研究言语和非言语多感觉知觉效应。对照组为听力正常的成年人。实验将研究（1）在人工耳蜗植入前后使用行为方法的视听言语感知;（2）在植入前使用功能磁共振成像对振动触觉、视觉和视觉触觉言语刺激做出反应的皮层活动;（3）在植入后使用行为训练范例的视听与仅听觉言语学习;（4）在人工耳蜗植入前后，使用来自脑电图（EEG）数据的事件相关电位（ERP）进行多感觉视听和视觉-触觉刺激检测;（5）人工耳蜗植入前后多感觉事件知觉的行为、功能磁共振成像和ERP数据。ERP数据的建模方法与解剖和功能性MRI的约束，将被用来实现高空间和时间分辨率的数据皮质活动，并克服使用MRI耳蜗植入后的限制。将从患者中获得全面的受试者和器械数据，用于结合实验数据的统计分析，并创建该临床人群的规范数据库。与公共卫生的相关性：该项目解决了有关成人神经可塑性的基本问题。它明确地测试了一种多感官的感觉训练方法，这种方法可以推广到其他感觉障碍，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.