The neurofunctional foundations of oro-facial motor control

描述(申请人提供)：本提案的长期目标是从左右大脑半球的神经生理学和神经解剖学特化的角度理解复杂的认知、知觉和运动过程的神经生物学基础。这项研究的目的之一是评估偏侧化对Broca区的同系物，即额叶下回在口面部运动控制习得中的影响。具体地说，左半球或右半球主导下额叶回的黑猩猩将被训练产生一种被称为覆盆子(Rasp)的新声音。如果左侧额下回选择性地参与口面部运动学习，那么左侧优势黑猩猩对口面部运动学习任务的判断速度应该比右半球优势黑猩猩快得多。第二个目标是评估口面部运动控制的神经关联。当黑猩猩产生有意的参考声音信号时，也就是说，当它们做出嘴唇形式的非交流口部动作时，黑猩猩将被进行正电子发射断层扫描。特别感兴趣的是确定在控制口腔基本运动时，在刺刀产生过程中使用的大脑区域的功能。整体研究将有助于我们理解影响个体和物种在半球特化表达上的差异的因素。 公共卫生相关性：各种神经发育和心理障碍与大脑半球特化的可变性有关，特别是与更高级别的认知和语言有关。因此，了解不同因素在大脑半球特化发育中的作用，对于了解大脑是如何发育的，以及在这些发育过程中中断的后果是什么，都是很重要的。建议的研究将提供关于可塑性和特定运动经验在大脑半球特化发展中的作用的重要数据。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objectives of this proposal are to understand the neurobiological basis of complex cognitive, perceptual and motor processes from the standpoint of neurophysiological and neuroanatomical specializations of the left and right cerebral hemispheres. One aim of the proposed studies is to evaluate the effect of lateralization on the homolog to Broca's area, referred to as the inferior frontal gyrus, on the acquisition of oro-facial motor control. Specifically, chimpanzees that are left or right hemisphere dominant for the inferior frontal gyrus will be trained to produce a novel sound referred to as the raspberry (RASP). If the left inferior frontal gyrus is selectively involved in oro-facial motor learning, then left dominant chimpanzees should criterion on the oro-facial motor learning task significantly faster than the right hemisphere dominant individuals. A second aim is to evaluate the neural correlates of oro-facial motor control. Chimpanzees will be PET imaged when producing intentional referential vocal signals, referred to as the RASP as well as when making non-communicative oro-facial movements in the form of lip pouts. Of specific interest is identification of brain areas functionally used during the production of the RASP when controlling for basic motor movements of the mouth. The overall studies will contribute to our understanding of factors that influence individual and species differences in the expression of hemispheric specialization. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A variety of neurodevelopmental and psychological disorders are linked to variability in hemispheric specialization of the brain, particularly as it relates to higher order cognition and language. Therefore understanding the role of different factors on the development of hemispheric specialization is important for understanding how the brain develops and what the consequences are for disruption in these developmental processes. The proposed studies will provide important data on plasticity and the role of specific motor experiences on the development of hemispheric specialization.