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Multisensory Integration in Action: a Multineuronal and Feedback-Control Approach

Award Number: R01HD090125
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/01/2017
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2023

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Multisensory Integration in Action: a Multineuronal and Feedback-Control Approach - Project Summary: Multisensory processing is vital for daily activities such as walking and manipulating objects, yet much remains unknown about the neural mechanisms by which sensory information is integrated in the central nervous system to influence motor control. We address this knowledge gap by analyzing behavioral and multi-neuronal multi-area recordings in the cerebral cortex of Rhesus monkeys trained to perform a prolonged motor control task (the critical stability task (CST)) that cannot be performed without continuous sensory feedback (visual and/or tactile). Rhesus monkeys will perform the CST using hand movements or a brain-computer interface (BCI) to control a cursor, while we manipulate sensory feedback. Neural activity will be recorded from primary visual (V1), somatosensory (S1) and motor cortices (M1). Our motivating hypothesis is that cortical processing is highly flexible, and can be rapidly reconfigured based on the immediate sensory and motor context. Several specific predictions flow from this perspective. First, we predict that primary motor cortex (M1) will exhibit a strong sensory response during a motor task that requires ongoing sensory feedback. Second, we hypothesize that V1 neurons adopt tactile responses, and S1 adopts visual responses, when both are relevant for ongoing motor control. Third, we expect that altering the signal quality of one sensory modality will shift their relative contribution to neural responses, consistent with Bayesian estimation. Animals will perform the CST using BCI control as a more dramatic test of cortical flexibility. During BCI control, sensory responses should be reduced in M1, since the BCI decoder cannot distinguish sensory responses from motor commands, which would diminish the quality of control. If multisensory integration is reduced in M1 under BCI control, then it must occur elsewhere. We hypothesize that there will be an enhanced cross-modal sensory representation in the primary sensory cortices under BCI control, in comparison to hand control. We approach these questions through a collaboration that combines expertise in sensorimotor neurophysiology with expertise in computational modeling of multisensory integration. The findings of this research will improve the understanding of the neural mechanisms of multimodal sensory integration during continuous motor tasks, and will have clinical implications for BCIs and advanced prostheses design.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2021	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION	4200 FIFTH AVENUE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15260	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	5	11/30/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $329,266 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	001	5	2/3/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$26,879
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	5	1/20/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$302,387
														Subtotal = $329,266

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $336,456 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	4	2/10/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$336,456
														Subtotal = $336,456

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $336,912 )
2019	2019	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	3	1/2/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$336,912
														Subtotal = $336,912

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $335,698 )
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	2	1/19/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$302,127
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	001	2	5/1/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$33,571
														Subtotal = $335,698

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $333,294 )
2017	2017	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE	3520 FIFTH AVE	PITTSBURGH	PA	15213	ALLEGHENY	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	1/27/2017	NEW	$333,294
														Subtotal = $333,294

Grand Total All Awards = $1,671,626

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Multisensory Integration in Action: a Multineuronal and Feedback-Control Approach

Award Number: R01HD090125

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/01/2017

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2023

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