Advances in Oculomotor and Vestibular Systems

描述（由申请人提供）：眼和前庭系统是系统神经科学中最古老和研究最彻底的两个主题。这些系统提供的知识的财富和广度产生了快速的进步和不同的方向，产生了健康和疾病中的眼和前庭功能的多学科观点。越来越明显的是，在眼科和前庭研究人员之间建立跨学科联系的论坛将大有裨益。该提案要求支持召开一次会议，其目标是将这些成熟领域的科学家和医生聚集在一起，重新审视眼和前庭系统的不同组成部分如何相互作用，并促进跨学科研究的增加。拟议的会议，题为“眼神经和前庭系统的进展”，是一个卫星的运动神经控制学会年会，将于2010年4月18日至20日在那不勒斯海滩酒店在那不勒斯，佛罗里达。具体计划将强调眼和/或前庭系统的四个新兴主题。首先，我们将重新评估上级丘的行动。我们将研究感觉信号是否依赖于颜色（传统上，它们被认为不是），并访问其运动命令是否编码期望的目标或实际的运动矢量的争议。其次，我们将考虑皮层和皮层下结构在视觉认知中的作用。研究使用视觉，眼，前庭线索，以获得洞察注意力，目标选择和空间方向将代表。第三，内部模型框架成为另一个新兴话题。眼动系统是研究内部模型的理想模型系统，因为眼动的准确反应，因为可以从扰动它们中获得洞察力。前庭系统也因其用于研究传出复制概念而备受关注。小脑被认为是内部模型的所在地，强调这一假设的研究。最后，我们将强调临床医生和计算科学家最近的合作努力，以模拟几个眼球运动障碍的病理生理学。本方法的一个独特之处在于将功能障碍归因于特定的细胞膜特性，这与将一般性损伤归因于眼部结构的传统观点相反。除了专题会议，奖学金获得者和其他与会者也将有机会展示他们的研究海报。总的来说，我们的目标是创造一个充满活力的科学氛围，将经常不在同一地点的想法和调查人员聚集在一起。 公共卫生相关性：眼和前庭系统疾病包括斜视、眼球震颤、眩晕和姿势失衡。这些系统的贡献反映在运动控制疾病（帕金森氏症，斜颈），感觉综合征（眩晕）和认知缺陷（空间忽视）。其他疾病，如先天性纤维化也可以改变眼外肌本身的机械特性。因此，眼和前庭系统与健康有着巨大的相关性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The oculomotor and vestibular systems are two of the oldest and most thoroughly studied topics in systems neuroscience. The wealth and breadth of knowledge these systems offer produces progress at a rapid pace and in divergent directions, yielding a multidisciplinary view of oculomotor and vestibular functions in health and disease. It is increasingly apparent that a forum to forge interdisciplinary links among oculomotor and vestibular researchers would be of great benefit. This proposal requests support for a conference, whose objective is to bring together scientists and physicians of these mature fields to take a fresh look at how the diverse components of the oculomotor and vestibular systems interact and to stimulate increased interdisciplinary research. The proposed conference, entitled "Advances in Oculomotor and Vestibular Systems," is a satellite to the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neural Control of Movement and will be held April 18-20, 2010, at the Naples Beach Hotel in Naples, Florida. The specific program will emphasize four emerging topics in oculomotor and/or vestibular systems. First, we will re-evaluate the actions of the superior colliculus. We will examine whether sensory signals are color-dependent (traditionally, they are assumed not to be) and visit the controversy of whether its motor command encodes the desired goal or the actual movement vector. Second, we will consider the role of the cortical and subcortical structures in visual cognition. Research that uses visual, oculomotor, and vestibular cues to gain insights into attention, target selection, and spatial orientation will be represented. Third, the framework of internal models has become another emerging topic. The oculomotor system is an ideal model system for the study of internal models because of the accurate response of eye movements and because of the insights that can be gained from perturbing them. The vestibular system has also shared the limelight with its use to study efference copy concepts. The cerebellum has been proposed as the locus of internal models, and studies that address this hypothesis will be emphasized. Finally, we will highlight the recent collaborative efforts of clinicians and computational scientists to simulate the pathophysiology of several ocular motility disorders. One uniqueness of the present approach has been to attribute the dysfunction to specific cell membrane properties, in contrast to the traditional view of a generic lesion to an oculomotor structure. In addition to the thematic sessions, scholarship recipients and other attendees will also have the opportunity to present posters of their research. Collectively, our objective is to create a scientifically vibrant atmosphere that brings together ideas and investigators that are often not at the same venue. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Disorders of oculomotor and vestibular systems include strabismus, nystagmus, vertigo, and postural imbalance. Contributions of these systems are reflected in motor control diseases (Parkinson's, torticollis), sensation syndromes (vertigo), and cognitive deficits (spatial neglect). Other disorders such as congenital fibrosis can also alter mechanistic properties of the extraocular muscle itself. Hence, the oculomotor and vestibular systems are of immense relevance to health.