Encoding and modulation of vibration representations in human neocortex

Active Project Grant Awarded Last action

Award ID
R01NS127777
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$5,331,008

Award facts

Completion date 88% complete
Place of performance
Houston, TX 77030, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

Abstract
Touch comprises an exquisite sensitivity to vibrations. This sensitivity underlies our ability to perceive textures and sense through handheld tools. Much of the information conveyed by vibrations is carried in their spectral content. Thus, vibration perception likely involves cortical processing that is analogous to the processes that support hearing. Although the neural encoding of vibrations in the peripheral somatosensory system is established, far less is known about vibration representations in the central nervous system. In this project, we will extend on our investigations of the cortical basis of vibration processing and determine on how vibration frequency representations are impacted by selective attention and multisensory context in the human brain. Our understanding of how cortical responses relate to perception is predicated on knowledge of how sensory information is selectively encoded in neural populations. Indeed, without knowing the logic of how sensory signals are represented and transformed across the brain, IT is difficult to understand how sensory responses are shaped by attention state or multisensory context. Although much is known about neural tuning for visual and auditory stimulus features, relatively little is known about somatosensory tuning mechanisms, particularly with respect to the frequency content of vibrations. We recently uncovered evidence for somatosensory tuning for vibration frequency in the human brain. This proposal builds on the observation of somatosensory tuning to test the overarching hypothesis that a cortical processing hierarchy supports the encoding and elaboration of vibration frequency information. We will address a number of fundamental questions using human behavior, functional neuroimaging, and modeling. In aim 1, we will establish how selective attention impacts frequency representations in voxel-level activity. In aim 2, we will establish how auditory frequency information - which is known to bias tactile frequency perception in humans - is integrated with vibration frequency information in voxel-level activity. In aim 3, we will test more complex stimuli to identify brain regions that respond to vibration comprising frequency changes (SWEEPS) and establish whether cortical responses reflect tuning for time varying frequency signals. Collectively, these experiments will advance our understanding of how the human brain supports vibration perception and how touch is combined with audition for multisensory cognition. Our findings may inform the diagnosis and treatment of sensory, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders involving somatosensory deficits, such as in individuals with brain damage, autism, schizophrenia, and age-related cognitive impairments including alzheimer's disease.

Transactions

Action Obligated Date
Amendment $495,194
Amendment $64,260
Amendment $64,260
Amendment $495,194
Amendment $495,194
Amendment $0
Amendment $0
Amendment $0
Amendment $41,691
Amendment $41,691
Amendment $41,691
Amendment $491,093
Amendment $491,093
Amendment $491,093
Amendment $527,111
Amendment $527,111
Amendment $532,166
Original award $532,166
Show all 18

Subawards

Subrecipient Amount Awarded
William Marsh Rice University Agreement: $26,691 Amd 1: $16,065 Rice University Applied Physics Program graduate student Daniela del Río will be working with Dr. Yau at BCM on a research… $42,756
University Of Texas At Austin Agreement: $15,530 Amend 1: $15,530 Amend 2: $15,064 (P700000239) Dr. Huth is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Neuroscience… $46,124
Fondation Voir Et Entendre Agreement: $95,237 (P700001091) The contribution of my lab to this project is to validate the use of red shifted GEVIs developed by St Pierre Lab for 2P-… $95,237
William Marsh Rice University Agreement: $30,243 Rice University Electrical Engineering graduate student Alix Macklin will be working with Jeffrey Yau at BCM on a research project aimed at… $30,243
William Marsh Rice University Agreement: $54,080 Rice University Applied Physics Program graduate student Daniela del Río will be working with Dr. Yau at BCM on a research project… $54,080

Quick answers

Who received award R01NS127777?

R01NS127777 was awarded to Baylor College Of Medicine by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (National Institutes of Health) on June 15, 2022.

How much is award R01NS127777 worth?

$5,331,008 has been obligated on R01NS127777.

On GovTribe

See this award's full record

  • Every transaction and subaward
  • The recipient's other awards and teaming partners
  • Similar grant awards
  • Ask GovTribe AI about this award