The goal of the project is to localize cognitive functions in the cerebral cortex, identify associated anatomical pathways and reveal the impact of localized, cerebral deactivations on secondary target structures to identify the neural circuits that underlie specific cognitive tasks. The investigation will center on two cerebral cortical regions which underlie distinct cognitive functions: Middle suprasylvian (MS) cortex in the parietal region, which subserves cognition of space and movement, and the ventral posterior suprasylvian (vPS) cortex in the temporal region, which subserves learning and recognition of forms and patterns. The project will test the hypothesis that MS and vPS cortices make specific functional contributions through a differential impact on primary and secondary target structures during performance of movement and form discrimination tasks. This will be tested by: 1) dissociating form and movement functions using reversible cooling deactivation, 2) dissociating the neural impact of cooling deactivation during successful or impaired task performance using a 2 (task) x 3 (region) matrix of experimental conditions and employing 2-deoxyglucose as an accurate marker of neural activity, and 3) relating the organization of anatomical circuits to the functional impacts of reversible deactivation. Thus, the project will link cerebral network architecture and activity levels to specialized cognitive functions.
| Rushmore, R J; Payne, Bertram; Valero-Cabre, Antoni (2010) Recovery of function following unilateral damage to visuoparietal cortex. Exp Brain Res 203:693-700 |
| Rushmore, R Jarrett; Valero-Cabre, Antoni; Lomber, Stephen G et al. (2006) Functional circuitry underlying visual neglect. Brain 129:1803-21 |
| Valero-Cabre, Antoni; Payne, Bertram R; Rushmore, Jarrett et al. (2005) Impact of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the parietal cortex on metabolic brain activity: a 14C-2DG tracing study in the cat. Exp Brain Res 163:1-12 |
