Our long-term aim is to rehabilitate neural spatial neglect. Unilateral neglect is a complex neurological disorder induced by unilateral brain damage that is characterized by lack of conscious perception, awareness, attention, and cognition of objects in the space contralateral to the brain damage. In a cat model of spatial neglect, unilateral deactivation of posterior and inferior parietal cortex induces a profound neglect of objects in the contralateral hemifield. Paradoxically, the neglect is reversed by additional deactivation of the homotopic region in the contralateral hemisphere. This model system offers the opportunity to investigate the neural mechanisms which, when damaged, produce neglect, and to develop an effective therapeutic strategy to reverse neglect in humans.
The Specific Aims of the proposed work are to test three hypotheses on: 1) the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to reverse neglect in a cat model, 2) to learn more about the primary & secondary functional impacts of lesions and stimulations on the attention network, & 3) interactions of lesions & rTMS on distant structures as the impact of the lesion emerges & when it is stable. The knowledge gained will aid the development of therapeutic and interventional strategies for application to human patients suffering from neglect. Animal studies provide the best possibility of studying the neglect syndrome, and its paradoxical reversal, in a highly systematic way and with considerable anatomical rigor. Our model of spatial neglect will allow systematic identification and dissection of pathways affected by the lesion, provide insights into the brain mechanisms underlying the reversal of neglect, lead to the development of therapeutic strategies to rehabilitate and ultimately reverse neurological neglect in human patients. Our over riding goal is to minimize rTMS parameters yet provide maximum therapeutic duration. It is a realistic goal that can be achieved with the proposed whole-animal behavioral assays and supplemented by the brain-wide network analyses on the functional impacts and interactions of parietal lesions and applied TMS on neurons. The data are of obvious translational importance for neurorehabilitation of neglect and may have wider-ranging impact on other neurologic and psychiatric diseases.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS047754-04
Application #
7103612
Study Section
Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience 5 (BDCN)
Program Officer
Babcock, Debra J
Project Start
2003-09-30
Project End
2008-06-30
Budget Start
2006-07-01
Budget End
2007-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$513,827
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston University
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
604483045
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02118
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Quentin, Romain; Elkin Frankston, Seth; Vernet, Marine et al. (2016) Visual Contrast Sensitivity Improvement by Right Frontal High-Beta Activity Is Mediated by Contrast Gain Mechanisms and Influenced by Fronto-Parietal White Matter Microstructure. Cereb Cortex 26:2381-90
Quentin, Romain; Chanes, Lorena; Vernet, Marine et al. (2015) Fronto-Parietal Anatomical Connections Influence the Modulation of Conscious Visual Perception by High-Beta Frontal Oscillatory Activity. Cereb Cortex 25:2095-101
Chanes, Lorena; Quentin, Romain; Vernet, Marine et al. (2015) Arrhythmic activity in the left frontal eye field facilitates conscious visual perception in humans. Cortex 71:240-7
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Afifi, Linda; Jarrett Rushmore, R; Valero-Cabre, Antoni (2013) Benefit of multiple sessions of perilesional repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for an effective rehabilitation of visuospatial function. Eur J Neurosci 37:441-54
Quentin, Romain; Chanes, Lorena; Migliaccio, Raffaella et al. (2013) Fronto-tectal white matter connectivity mediates facilitatory effects of non-invasive neurostimulation on visual detection. Neuroimage 82:344-54
Naeser, Margaret A; Martin, Paula I; Theoret, Hugo et al. (2011) TMS suppression of right pars triangularis, but not pars opercularis, improves naming in aphasia. Brain Lang 119:206-13

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