Auditory and Visual Integration and Plasticity

描述(由申请人提供)：视觉和听觉代表了空间和时间协同的外部世界，这对指导几乎所有的自然活动至关重要。这两个系统在空间处理上有很大的不同；图像直接映射到视网膜上，而听觉空间必须使用基于耳间差异和光谱内容的位置相关线索来集中构建。从这些不同的输入中，视觉和听觉空间必须集成到一个共同的坐标方案和参考框架中才能发挥作用。此外，必须准确跟踪眼球运动以保持空间恒定，因为在耳朵(和听觉空间)保持头部固定的情况下，眼睛运动会使视网膜图像相对于头部移动。这个项目的目标是了解尽管面临发育、疾病和衰老的挑战，人类感觉之间的空间协同校准是如何保持的。具体目标包括：1)确定视听位置在空间定位的视听交互中的作用；2)检验眼位和跨感觉经验对棱镜引起的视觉空间移动后声音定位适应性变化的相对贡献；3)阐明在使用“虚拟耳朵”直接操纵听觉空间线索后，声音定位中的新的适应机制。适应性挑战前后的行为实验将量化听觉和视觉空间定位的准确性和精确度，同时控制和监控感觉输入和眼睛位置随时间的推移。衰老对空间感觉和适应性可塑性的影响将被研究到90年代。这个项目将提供对视听整合和空间感觉之间的适应性可塑性的基本理解。这些因素对于在疾病和自然衰老的挑战下恢复正常的空间行为是必不可少的。下一步是利用这一新知识来开发新的诊断和治疗干预措施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Vision and audition represent the outside world in spatial and temporal synergy that is crucial for guiding nearly all natural activities. The two systems differ dramatically in their processing of space; images are mapped directly onto the retina, while auditory space must be constructed centrally using location- dependent cues based upon interaural differences and spectral content. From these diverse inputs, visual and auditory space must be integrated into a common coordinate scheme and reference frame to be useful. Additionally, eye movements must be tracked accurately to maintain space constancy because they shift the retinal image relative to the head while the ears (and auditory space) remain head-fixed. The goal of this project is to understand how spatial co-calibration between the senses is maintained in humans despite the challenges of development, disease, and aging. Specific aims will: 1) establish the role of eye position in audio-visual interactions underlying spatial localization; 2) examine the relative contributions of eye position and cross-sensory experience on adaptive changes in sound localization after prism-induced shifts of visual space; and 3) elucidate novel adaptive mechanisms in sound localization following direct manipulations of auditory spatial cues using "virtual ears." Behavioral experiments before and after adaptive challenges will quantify the accuracy and precision of auditory and visual spatial localization across a broad region of frontal (multi-sensory) space while controlling and monitoring sensory inputs and eye position over time. Influences of senescence on the spatial senses and adaptive plasticity will be addressed into the ninth decade. This project will provide a fundamental understanding of audio-visual integration and adaptive plasticity between the spatial senses. These factors are essential for the recovery of normal spatial behavior following the challenges of disease and natural aging. A next step is to exploit this new knowledge towards the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.