Projektleiterin: PD Dr. Natalia Zaretskaya
Kooperationspartner: Medizinische Universität Wien
Finanzierung: FWF (Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung)
Laufzeit: 2024 - 2028
Zusammenfassung:
Wider research context / theoretical framework
The claustrum is a thin sheet of brain’s gray matter located between the insular cortex and the basal ganglia. It has reciprocal connections with all cortical regions, but no direct sensory subcortical inputs, suggesting its involvement in higher-level cognitive processes. Despite these unique and intriguing properties, the function of the claustrum remains elusive, with hypotheses ranging from synchronization of cortical activity to top-down attention and consciousness.
One of the major difficulties in unraveling the function of the claustrum is its thin shape, which makes it difficult to target and examine. Invasive animal studies, which typically allow for methods with higher precision, are limited in the complexity of the cognitive tasks. Furthermore, their findings can not be easily generalized to humans. Especially testing the central hypothesis about the claustrum’s role in consciousness is methodologically challenging in animal models.
Recent advances in neuroimaging technology, especially the increasing availability of scanners with ultrahigh magnetic fields, allowed to push the resolution of structural and functional scans to a range below 1 mm. This, in turn, has allowed imaging small brain structures such as the cortical columns and layers. The claustrum, however, has not profited from these advances so far.
Hypotheses/research questions/objectives
This project is dedicated to examining the functional responses of the human claustrum using high-resolution MRI and to testing major hypotheses about claustrum’s involvement in attention and consciousness.
Approach/methods
We will use the latest imaging technologies at 3 T and 7 T to achieve the highest possible spatial resolution of structural and functional images. The first part of the project is dedicated to a systematic examination of the functional response properties of the claustrum’s visual and auditory sensory zones. The second part of the project is dedicated to testing the key predictions about the role of the claustrum in attention and conscious perception.
Level of originality/innovation
This is the first attempt to systematically examine the functional response properties of the human claustrum using the latest high-resolution MRI methodologies, which can provide unique insights into its function.
Primary researchers involved
The project will be accomplished by a group of researchers consisting of a post-doc, a Ph.D. student, and a research assistant working under the supervision of the principal investigator. Experiments at the 7 T will be performed in collaboration with Christian Windischberger at the Medical University of Vienna.