Collaborative Research: NCS-FO: Active vision during natural behavior: More than meets the eye?

合作研究：NCS-FO：自然行为期间的主动视觉：不仅仅是表面上看到的？

• 批准号: 2123568
• 负责人: Daniel Butts
• 金额: $ 8.79万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2123568&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; NCS; FO; Active

Vision is a process by which the image falling on the eyes is processed by specialized neurons within visual brain areas. Neurons in the early stages of visual processing convey information about small bits of the visual scene, like pixel-detectors in a camera. For example, a neuron in visual cortex might respond best to a small white bar at a particular location in visual space. Should this example neuron respond differently when the white bar is part of an object that we have seen before, or one that we are moving towards? Psychology might suggest so, but for almost 60 years, most scientists studying the neural basis of visual perception have implicitly assumed that responses of neurons in visual cortex depend only on the visual image falling on the eyes. It is increasingly clear that neurons in the visual cortex do indeed care about behavioral context – as well as the state of the brain itself. These external, internal, and contextual factors influence how neurons process the visual scene. Exactly how much these “non-visual” factors influence visual cortical neurons remains a significant open question that this project aims to address.The experiments will record from neurons in the visual cortex of ferrets as they freely explore a naturalistic environment. Using position and eye-tracking cameras, the project will both recreate a movie of what the ferret saw within the environment, and track other observable variables related to behavior. The movie will then be replayed to the ferret while it is anesthetized, thus directly measuring any differences in neuronal responses to the same visual stimulation in these two very different contexts. Analysis will compare the physiological quality and statistical properties of neuronal responses across naturalistic and anesthetized conditions to quantify the contribution of natural context to neuronal responses. Results will relate the differences in the freely moving context to specific sources, like motor actions such as eye and head movements, familiarity with specific visual features, and their behavioral relevance. Experiments will inform models for how these sources influence neuronal activity, setting the stage for understanding the function of non-retinal inputs for sensory perception. The project will provide a foundation for long-term studies of natural vision.This project is funded by Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NCS), a multidisciplinary program jointly supported by the Directorates for Biology (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Engineering (ENG), and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

视觉是一个过程，掉落在眼睛上的图像是由视觉大脑区域内的专门神经元处理的。在视觉处理的早期阶段的神经元传达了有关视觉场景的小部分的信息，例如相机中的像素检测器。例如，视觉皮层中的神经元可能对视觉空间特定位置的小白色条的反应最好。当白色条是我们以前看到的对象的一部分或我们正在朝向的对象的一部分时，神经元是否应有不同的反应？心理学可能是这样建议的，但是在将近60年的时间里，大多数研究视觉感知的神经元基础的科学家隐含地假设神经元在视觉皮层中的反应仅取决于视觉图像落在眼睛上的视觉图像。越来越清楚的是，视觉皮层中的神经元确实在乎行为环境以及大脑本身的状态。这些外部，内部和上下文因素会影响神经元如何处理视觉场景。这些“非视觉”因素对视觉皮质神经元的影响是一个重要的开放问题，该项目旨在解决该问题。实验将在雪貂视觉皮层中的神经元记录，因为它们可以自由地探索自然主义环境。该项目使用位置和眼球摄像机，都将重新制作雪貂在环境中看到的内容的电影，并跟踪与行为相关的其他可观察变量。然后将电影在麻醉时重播到雪貂，从而直接测量在这两个截然不同的情况下对相同视觉刺激的神经元反应的任何差异。分析将比较自然和麻醉条件上神经元反应的身体质量和统计特性，以量化自然情境对神经元反应的贡献。结果将将自由移动上下文的差异与特定来源联系起来，例如眼睛和头部运动等运动动作，对特定视觉特征的熟悉程度及其行为相关性。实验将为这些源如何影响神经元活动的模型提供通知，为理解非视网膜输入的功能奠定了基础。该项目将为自然视觉的长期研究提供基础。该项目由理解神经和认知系统（NCS）的综合策略资助，神经和认知系统（一项多学科计划，由生物学局（BIIO），计算机和信息科学与工程（CISE），教育与人力资源（EHR），工程和工程（ENG），社会，行为，行为以及经济科学（SBE）的批准。利用基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响审查标准。