参与中文配对词语联想学习记忆的脑区和神经机制——脑功能磁共振的研究

通过脑功能磁共振技术,研究健康人参与语言的词语配对联想学习记忆任务的脑区和神经机制。对16名右利手健康志愿者进行一项词语配对联想学习记忆任务作业的同时,进行脑功能磁共振扫描。实验采用组块设计,实验任务（包括记忆编码相和记忆提取相）与对照任务（共两个相）交替进行;数据采用SPM99软件进行数据分析和脑功能区定位。结果表明：左侧额叶,特别是左侧额叶的额中下回和枕叶的18,19区在词语联想学习记忆的编码阶段中起重要作用;而左侧顶上小叶、缘上回和角回则在进行记忆提取阶段起重要作用;左侧纹状体边缘区参与了人脑词语联想学习记忆作业的编码阶段。揭示了人大脑完成语言联想学习记忆任务时,除额、顶、枕和颞叶的皮层结构参与外,还新发现有皮层下结构如纹状体参与了词语联想学习记忆。在配对词语的编码和提取阶段,激活的脑区有所变化,显示了这两个语言阶段的神经活动变化机制。     

大鼠基底外侧杏仁核对恐惧视觉信息的编码分析

研究大鼠在条件性恐惧视觉建立过程中基底外侧杏仁核(basal lateral amygdala, BLA)如何对恐惧视觉信息进行神经元响应特征编码分析。通过对实验Long-Evans(LE)大鼠进行电极植入手术,采用巴普洛夫原理设计基于自然图像的恐惧训练实验范式;用多通道信号采集系统采集训练前、后BLA脑区3种不同属性图片刺激时的锋电位(Spike)神经信号,并且分别根据发放率编码和信息熵编码方法对所提取Spike信号进行编码分析;最后,采用朴素贝叶斯分类器对图片属性进行分类解码判断,研究大鼠BLA区对恐惧视觉信息进行神经编码的机制。结果表明,恐惧训练后Spike发放率和信息熵均有明显增加,解码正确率为恐惧94%、非恐惧93%。说明恐惧视觉信息能够激活大鼠BLA脑区的神经元响应,朴素贝叶斯分类器可以实现对神经元集群响应的分类解码,且对恐惧信息解码效果更好。     

大鼠初级视皮层神经元整合野调制的多重分形去趋势波动分析

初级视皮层(V1区)神经元整合野的外周调制作用是动物执行视觉图像-背景分割和目标识别的神经基础。采用多重分形去趋势波动的方法,分析了整合野调制下神经元响应的多重分形性,并分析了其与整合野抑制作用的关系。结果表明:不同模式下神经元的响应信号均具有多重分形特征,谱宽Δα能显著区分两种典型的整合野调制状态,且神经元的分形性强度与整合野的抑制指数呈正相关。该研究表明整合野的调制作用改变了神经元响应的复杂程度,提高了其携带信息的能力。     

基于稀疏-小世界网络的初级视皮层神经元发放模型

通过构建神经元发放模型实现对视觉系统刺激编码方式的解析是计算神经生理学领域的研究热点。在传统线性-非线性-泊松(LNP)模型的基础上,采用稀疏编码模型训练的基函数作为模型的刺激滤波器,进一步利用小世界网络优化神经元集群的连接结构,构建了一种新型初级视皮层(V1区)神经元发放模型,用于预测神经元在特定刺激模式下的响应活动。利用在LE大鼠V1区采集的多通道发放数据拟合模型参数,进一步验证模型的有效性。实验结果表明,与传统未选择基函数作为刺激滤波器以及未经过小世界网络优化的对照模型相比,该模型能更准确地预测大鼠V1区神经元在不同朝向光栅刺激下的响应。该研究表明,经小世界网络优化后,模型中神经元的连接结构具有更强的生物相似性,能更真实地反映初级视觉皮层神经元群的响应机制。     

大鼠杏仁核在条件性恐惧视觉建立过程中的集群编码研究

研究了大鼠在条件性恐惧视觉建立过程中杏仁核对恐惧视觉信息的编码。首先,设计两种不同拓扑结构("十"和"O")图形,利用巴普洛夫条件反射原理建立大鼠条件性恐惧视觉联结,采用多通道神经信号采集系统采集恐惧视觉建立过程中的杏仁核神经元集群响应信号。然后,对神经元响应信号进行有效响应区间的自适应选取,分别采用神经元集群发放频率和集群熵研究条件性恐惧视觉建立的不同阶段杏仁核的集群编码,发现神经元集群在条件性恐惧建立后发放率、熵均有显著增加。最后,采用支持向量机构建条件性恐惧建立过程中不同恐惧水平的分类模型,验证两种编码的效果。结果表明集群熵编码包含更多的非线性信息和时空整合信息,能更有效地实现恐惧视觉建立过程中视觉信息的"恐惧"水平的表征,由此推测大鼠杏仁核神经核团是以集群的方式对恐惧信息进行编码的。     

视皮层假体中的视觉信息编码方法研究

视皮层假体的研究对眼科医学具有重要的意义;设计了一种视皮层假体的结构,提出了一种基于视觉机理的图像信息编码策略;实际图像的仿真结果表明,本方法在保证图像质量的前提下,能采用更少的神经元来表征自然图像中的重要信息,为减少植入皮层刺激电极的数量提供了理论参考.     

脑对双耳听觉信息整合的神经机制

综述近60 a来有关脑对双耳听觉信息整合的神经机制的研究进展.首先介绍了脑处理双耳信息的神经解剖学基础，双耳神经元的分类及其生理特性，以及双耳神经元在听觉系统的拓扑学分布研究；然后对脑处理双耳听觉信息研究的热点领域进行了重点探讨，综述了上橄榄复合体、下丘和听皮层双耳神经元对双耳时间差和双耳强度差的编码方式，以及脑通过对这些参数的编码来分析声源方位的神经生理学研究进展；最后对该领域未来研究方向作展望.     

记忆编码和提取中的神经激活模式再现?

情景记忆使得人们可以在头脑中生动地经历已经发生过的事件,然而支持这一过程的神经机制还没有得到很好地理解.本文针对近年来基于神经激活模式分析的研究对"神经激活模式再现"的假说进行了整合分析,提供了重要的支持性证据.这些研究发现,成功地提取伴随着编码时神经激活模式的再现,且再现的发生先于行为判断出现;除此以外,神经激活重现可以在重复学习过程中发生,或者由相似的学习材料引发,且这种再现程度与随后的记忆效果相关;此外,神经激活模式再现还可以在睡眠和休息条件下自发地产生,促进随后的记忆成绩.在此基础之上,本研究还进一步考察了神经激活模式的本质特征,探讨了内侧颞叶和额顶皮层等重要脑区在再现过程中的作用,并对神经激活模式再现的研究方向进行了展望.     

视觉意识的认知神经科学研究进展

对视觉意识与视觉刺激、视觉注意、视觉指导的行为间的分离进行了阐述,列举了相关实验证据,并进一步讨论了视觉意识产生的神经机制．过去研究者普遍认为意识产生于大脑高级皮层区域,而近年来不断出现的各类证据说明高级皮层区域到低级皮层区域的反馈过程对于意识的产生是必要的．以反馈加工过程为主要切入点,文中对视觉意识的产生及其作用机制进行了讨论,并归纳和总结了现有研究结果中的矛盾和争议．意识这一极其复杂的心理现象仍有很多问题有待进一步的探索与澄清．     

PrP106-126神经毒性多肽对原代神经元造成病理性损伤

目的系统地研究PrP106-126神经毒性多肽对原代神经元造成的损伤。方法使用出生24 h内的SD乳鼠分离培养原代神经元,经过PrP106-126处理后,利用免疫印迹技术检测凋亡相关蛋白的变化;利用透射电镜观察功毒后原代神经元亚细胞结构的变化情况;利用流式细胞仪检测细胞活性;利用免疫荧光技术观察细胞凋亡情况。结果随着PrP106-126刺激原代神经元的时间延长,抑制凋亡蛋白的表达量不断下降,促凋亡蛋白的表达量不断升高;透射电镜显示,经过多肽刺激的原代神经元的细胞器结构有不同程度的损伤,细胞胞浆内出现大小不等的单层或多层空泡结构;TUNEL细胞凋亡检测和Annexin V-FITC细胞活力检测试剂盒的检测结果都表明,经多肽刺激后,原代神经元的细胞活力显著下降,并有大量神经元发生凋亡。结论 PrP106-126神经毒性多肽激活促凋亡信号通路,造成细胞内的平稳紊乱和超微结构损伤,诱导原代神经元发生凋亡,为朊病毒疾病研究模型的建立提供全面可靠的证据。     

Control of visual cortical signals by prefrontal dopamine

The prefrontal cortex is thought to modulate sensory signals in posterior cortices during top-down attention, but little is known about the underlying neural circuitry. Experimental and clinical evidence indicate that prefrontal dopamine has an important role in cognitive functions, acting predominantly through D1 receptors. Here we show that dopamine D1 receptors mediate prefrontal control of signals in the visual cortex of macaques (Macaca mulatta). We pharmacologically altered D1-receptor-mediated activity in the frontal eye field of the prefrontal cortex and measured the effect on the responses of neurons in area V4 of the visual cortex. This manipulation was sufficient to enhance the magnitude, the orientation selectivity and the reliability of V4 visual responses to an extent comparable with the known effects of top-down attention. The enhancement of V4 signals was restricted to neurons with response fields overlapping the part of visual space affected by the D1 receptor manipulation. Altering either D1- or D2-receptor-mediated frontal eye field activity increased saccadic target selection but the D2 receptor manipulation did not enhance V4 signals. Our results identify a role for D1 receptors in mediating the control of visual cortical signals by the prefrontal cortex and suggest how processing in sensory areas could be altered in mental disorders involving prefrontal dopamine.     

Top-down signal from prefrontal cortex in executive control of memory retrieval.

Knowledge or experience is voluntarily recalled from memory by reactivation of the neural representations in the cerebral association cortex. In inferior temporal cortex, which serves as the storehouse of visual long-term memory, activation of mnemonic engrams through electric stimulation results in imagery recall in humans, and neurons can be dynamically activated by the necessity for memory recall in monkeys. Neuropsychological studies and previous split-brain experiments predicted that prefrontal cortex exerts executive control upon inferior temporal cortex in memory retrieval; however, no neuronal correlate of this process has ever been detected. Here we show evidence of the top-down signal from prefrontal cortex. In the absence of bottom-up visual inputs, single inferior temporal neurons were activated by the top-down signal, which conveyed information on semantic categorization imposed by visual stimulus-stimulus association. Behavioural performance was severely impaired with loss of the top-down signal. Control experiments confirmed that the signal was transmitted not through a subcortical but through a fronto-temporal cortical pathway. Thus, feedback projections from prefrontal cortex to the posterior association cortex appear to serve the executive control of voluntary recall.     

Attention modulates synchronized neuronal firing in primate somatosensory cortex

A potentially powerful information processing strategy in the brain is to take advantage of the temporal structure of neuronal spike trains. An increase in synchrony within the neural representation of an object or location increases the efficacy of that neural representation at the next synaptic stage in the brain; thus, increasing synchrony is a candidate for the neural correlate of attentional selection. We investigated the synchronous firing of pairs of neurons in the secondary somatosensory cortex (SII) of three monkeys trained to switch attention between a visual task and a tactile discrimination task. We found that most neuron pairs in SII cortex fired synchronously and, furthermore, that the degree of synchrony was affected by the monkey's attentional state. In the monkey performing the most difficult task, 35% of neuron pairs that fired synchronously changed their degree of synchrony when the monkey switched attention between the tactile and visual tasks. Synchrony increased in 80% and decreased in 20% of neuron pairs affected by attention.     

Neural activity predicts individual differences in visual working memory capacity

Contrary to our rich phenomenological visual experience, our visual short-term memory system can maintain representations of only three to four objects at any given moment. For over a century, the capacity of visual memory has been shown to vary substantially across individuals, ranging from 1.5 to about 5 objects. Although numerous studies have recently begun to characterize the neural substrates of visual memory processes, a neurophysiological index of storage capacity limitations has not yet been established. Here, we provide electrophysiological evidence for lateralized activity in humans that reflects the encoding and maintenance of items in visual memory. The amplitude of this activity is strongly modulated by the number of objects being held in the memory at the time, but approaches a limit asymptotically for arrays that meet or exceed storage capacity. Indeed, the precise limit is determined by each individual's memory capacity, such that the activity from low-capacity individuals reaches this plateau much sooner than that from high-capacity individuals. Consequently, this measure provides a strong neurophysiological predictor of an individual's capacity, allowing the demonstration of a direct relationship between neural activity and memory capacity.     

Development of an invasive brain machine interface with a monkey model

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) translate neural activities of the brain into specific instructions that can be carried out by external devices. BMIs have the potential to restore or augment motor functions of paralyzed patients suffering from spinal cord damage. The neural activities have been used to predict the 2D or 3D movement trajectory of monkey’s arm or hand in many studies. However, there are few studies on decoding the wrist movement from neural activities in center-out paradigm. The present study developed an invasive BMI system with a monkey model using a 10×10-microelectrode array in the primary motor cortex. The monkey was trained to perform a two-dimensional forelimb wrist movement paradigm where neural activities and movement signals were simultaneous recorded. Results showed that neuronal firing rates highly correlated with forelimb wrist movement; > 70% (105/149) neurons exhibited specific firing changes during movement and > 36% (54/149) neurons were used to discriminate directional pairs. The neuronal firing rates were also used to predict the wrist moving directions and continuous trajectories of the forelimb wrist. The four directions could be classified with 96% accuracy using a support vector machine, and the correlation coefficients of trajectory prediction using a general regression neural network were above 0.8 for both horizontal and vertical directions. Results showed that this BMI system could predict monkey wrist movements in high accuracy through the use of neuronal firing information.     

Neural networks and perceptual learning

Sensory perception is a learned trait. The brain strategies we use to perceive the world are constantly modified by experience. With practice, we subconsciously become better at identifying familiar objects or distinguishing fine details in our environment. Current theoretical models simulate some properties of perceptual learning, but neglect the underlying cortical circuits. Future neural network models must incorporate the top-down alteration of cortical function by expectation or perceptual tasks. These newly found dynamic processes are challenging earlier views of static and feedforward processing of sensory information.     

Interocular rivalry revealed in the human cortical blind-spot representation

To understand conscious vision, scientists must elucidate how the brain selects specific visual signals for awareness. When different monocular patterns are presented to the two eyes, they rival for conscious expression such that only one monocular image is perceived at a time. Controversy surrounds whether this binocular rivalry reflects neural competition among pattern representations or monocular channels. Here we show that rivalry arises from interocular competition, using functional magnetic resonance imaging of activity in a monocular region of primary visual cortex corresponding to the blind spot. This cortical region greatly prefers stimulation of the ipsilateral eye to that of the blind-spot eye. Subjects reported their dominant percept while viewing rivalrous orthogonal gratings in the visual location corresponding to the blind spot and its surround. As predicted by interocular rivalry, the monocular blind-spot representation was activated when the ipsilateral grating became perceptually dominant and suppressed when the blind-spot grating became dominant. These responses were as large as those observed during actual alternations between the gratings, indicating that rivalry may be fully resolved in monocular visual cortex. Our findings provide the first physiological evidence, to our knowledge, that interocular competition mediates binocular rivalry, and indicate that V1 may be important in the selection and expression of conscious visual information.     

自动化加工中的注意调控作用：无意识认知新构念

虽然自动化加工是在无意图的状态下产生的，但是这种无意识加工受到注意自上而下的控制。阈下启动效应需要注意参与，其加工易受刺激期盼、动作意图和任务集等因素的影响；当无意识信息与目标任务匹配时注意能够增强其加工过程，作用方式与有意注意基本一致。注意敏感机制通过将引导任务和启动效应相结合的方式可对当前矛盾的实证研究做出合理解释。未来研究可在无意识视觉加工的注意控制属性领域多做尝试。     

Parallel processing of motion and colour information

When the two eyes are confronted with sufficiently different versions of the visual environment, one or the other eye dominates perception in alternation. A similar situation may be created in the laboratory by presenting images to the left and right eyes which differ in orientation or colour. Although perception is dominated by one eye during rivalry, there are a number of instances in which visual processes nevertheless continue to integrate information from the suppressed eye. For example the interocular transfer of the motion after-effect is undiminished when induced during binocular rivalry. Thus motion information processing may occur in parallel with the rivalry process. Here we describe a novel example in which the visual system simultaneously exhibits binocular rivalry and vision that integrates signals from both eyes. This apparent contradiction is resolved by postulating parallel visual processes devoted to the analyses of colour and motion information. Counterphased gratings are viewed dichoptically such that for one eye the grating is composed of alternating yellow and black stripes (luminance) while for the other it is composed of alternating red and green stripes (chrominance). When the gratings are fused, a moving grating is perceived. A consistent direction of motion can only be achieved if left and right monocular signals are integrated by the nervous system. Yet the apparent colour of the binocular percept alternates between red-green and yellow-black. These observations demonstrate the segregation of processing by the early motion system from that affording the perception of colour. Although, in this stimulus, colour information in itself can play no part in the cyclopean perception of motion direction, colour is carried along perceptually (filled in) by the moving pattern which is integrated from both eyes.     

Eye-specific effects of binocular rivalry in the human lateral geniculate nucleus

When dissimilar images are presented to the two eyes, they compete for perceptual dominance so that each image is visible in turn for a few seconds while the other is suppressed. Such binocular rivalry is associated with relative suppression of local, eye-based representations that can also be modulated by high-level influences such as perceptual grouping. However, it is currently unclear how early in visual processing the suppression of eye-based signals can occur. Here we use high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in conjunction with a new binocular rivalry stimulus to show that signals recorded from the human lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) exhibit eye-specific suppression during rivalry. Regions of the LGN that show strong eye-preference independently show strongly reduced activity during binocular rivalry when the stimulus presented in their preferred eye is perceptually suppressed. The human LGN is thus the earliest stage of visual processing that reflects eye-specific dominance and suppression.