Neural basis of spatial neglect symptoms in thalamo-cortical circuits

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Melanie Wilke
• Subject Area: Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: from 2012 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 221781256

Spatial neglect is a debilitating neuropsychological disorder that is characterized by an impaired or lost ability to explore the space contralateral to the lesion and to react to stimuli presented on this side. Lesion sites that have been implicated in spatial neglect form a widely distributed network and involve cortical fronto-parietal and parieto-temporal networks as well as subcortical sites such as basal ganglia and the thalamic pulvinar. While most studies in human and non-human primates have focused on cortical lesions, the current research plan aims to elucidate the genesis of neglect symptoms following pulvinar lesions. The main goal of the project is to assess the neural consequences of pulvinar inactivation in cortical areas. To this end we will combine reversible pharmacological inactivation with fMRI and recordings of single cell and population activity in monkeys performing oculomotor and spatial decision tasks. Taken together, the proposed research is directed towards a better neurophysiological understanding of the role of thalamo-cortical interactions in the processing of spatial information and aims to bridge the gap between fMRI studies in humans and single cell studies in non-human primates.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Igor Kagan