| Project/Area Number |
08279105
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Institution | Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University |
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Principal Investigator |
ONO Taketoshi Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (50019577)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KURATA Kouji Osaka University, Fuculty of Engineering Science, Lecturer, 基礎工学部, 教授 (40170071)
IWATA Makoto Tokyo Woman's Medical College, Professor, 病院・教授 (90107665)
ANZAI Yuichiro Keio University, Fuculty of Science and Technology, Professor, 理工学部, 教授 (40051875)
SAWAGUCHI Toshiyuki Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (00183830)
MORITA Masahiko University of Tsukuba, Lecturer, 機能工学, 講師 (00222349)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1996 – 1999
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| Keywords | Emotion / Thought / Language ape / Limbic System / Prefrontal Cortex / Modelling / Functional Brain Imaging / Neurophysiology |
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| Research Abstract |
The neural systems for emotion and thought are supposed to activate and control other lower functional modules in the brain such as attention, recognition, learning and memory, and motor systems so that the brain works as a coherent unified system. That is, our hypothesis is that thought and emotion are higher systems integrating other functional modules in the brain. In the present study, we investigated principles in the brain for thought and emotion from the experimental and computational approaches. In the experimental approach (neurophysiology and neuropsychology), neuronal activity in the limbic system and frontal lobe was analyzed to elucidate the role of these areas in manipulating information flow using awake behaving animals. In humans with focal brain lesions behavioral responses were analyzed to localize functional modules such as visual and memory systems. In the computational approaches, the frontal and temporal lobes involved in thought and recognition/memory were simulated to investigate principles for thought and emotion to control information flow. Furthermore, a role of the hippocampal formation in interaction between memory and sensory systems was investigated using an optical recording technique. The experimental studies suggest that the prefrontal neurons are deeply involved in thought by contributing to working memory and central executive system, and the neurons in the limbic system are important for biological evaluation of a sensory stimulus and for conversion of emotion to action. The simulation studies proposed a developing multiple brain map model based on the self-organization and basic models of emotion and thought. In the future, joint studies with experimental and computational approaches should uncover the principles for thought and emotion to bind other functional modules in the brain.
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