Neural mechanisms of long-range spatial vision: an investigation of perceptive, integrative and association fields across the lifespan

远距离空间视觉的神经机制：对整个生命周期的感知、整合和关联领域的研究

• 批准号: BB/R009287/1
• 负责人: Jasna Martinovic
• 金额: $ 44.42万
• 依托单位: University of Aberdeen
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FR009287%2F1
• 关键词: Neural; mechanisms; long; range; spatial

Incoming light is processed by retinal receptors. Light reflected from objects that are nearby each other will fall onto adjacent retinal locations, and will be fed to correspondingly located neurons in the visual cortex. In the visual cortex, units of different complexity will process this information further, ultimately giving rise to our everyday visual experience. The area of space on the retina to which a visual cortex unit responds is called a visual field. The concept of visual fields has played a crucial role in the study of visual perception since the pioneering studies of Hubel and Wiesel in the 1960s. Visual fields determine which information will be bound together and which will be individuated. Away from the centre of the retina, visual fields increase in size, but this size is flexible and, somewhat surprisingly, depends on the strength of the received signals (colour or brightness) as well as the presence or absence of nearby objects, which activate neighbouring neural units. There are also visual fields of different complexity: while neurons in the primary visual cortex simply integrate the amount of brightness or colour contrast that fall within their scope, neurons beyond it integrate or individuate more complex attributes of objects, e.g. orientation, to identify the object's shape. Therefore, visual fields determine information processing across space, especially processing of relatively long-range spatial information, which will be at some distance from each other once we move away from the centre of the retina. The aim of this project is to build a unitary framework that would encompass neural processing within visual fields of different complexity across the lifespan. Despite years of research, such a unitary framework is still lacking: while we know a lot about "low-level" processing of colour and luminance supported by neurons in the primary visual cortex, the intermediate stages of visual processing are more difficult to probe and distinct aspects of such "mid-level" vision are often studied separately. The uniqueness of our approach is that we will probe visual fields of different complexity, covering both "low" and "mid-level" vision, using the same paradigm. This paradigm is simple yet powerful: it relies on the same stimulus, consisting of multiple oriented elements (black and white gratings known as Gabor patches) that can form different letters, to probe visual fields of different complexity by simply changing the task that the participants are performing: a) detecting the presence or absence of a target element, b) judging its properties, or c) judging the identity of the whole letter. We will establish how visual fields process stimuli defined by brightness, colour, or both, thus integrating all types of contrast visible to the human eye. Finally, we will conduct our experiments on a large sample that consists of participants that are between 20 and 80 years of age. Our experiments will combine behavioural and neuroscientific techniques, using new, state-of-the-art electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques to ascertain which neural mechanisms underlie age-related changes in visual processing. We will determine the degree to which age-related deficits are driven by an increase in neural noise, and relate it to more basic changes in contrast sensitivity. Such analyses of age-related differences will offer an exciting window into the neural mechanisms that sustain information processing in human vision. In this way, this project will not only provide a basis for theoretical developments in visual perception, but will also considerably affect our understanding of the aging of sensory mechanisms. Such information can be used to improve the quality of life for the elderly.

入射光由视网膜受体处理。从彼此附近的物体反射的光将落在相邻的视网膜位置上，并将被馈送到视觉皮层中相应位置的神经元。在视觉皮层中，不同复杂度的单元将进一步处理这些信息，最终产生我们日常的视觉体验。视网膜上视觉皮层单元响应的空间区域称为视野。自 20 世纪 60 年代 Hubel 和 Wiesel 的开创性研究以来，视野的概念在视觉感知研究中发挥了至关重要的作用。视野决定哪些信息将被结合在一起，哪些信息将被单独化。远离视网膜中心，视野的大小会增加，但这种大小是灵活的，并且有点令人惊讶的是，它取决于接收到的信号（颜色或亮度）的强度以及附近物体的存在或不存在，这些物体会激活邻近的神经单元。还存在不同复杂性的视野：虽然初级视觉皮层中的神经元只是整合属于其范围内的亮度或颜色对比度的量，但超出其范围的神经元整合或个体化物体的更复杂的属性，例如，方向，以识别物体的形状。因此，视野决定了跨空间的信息处理，尤其是相对长距离的空间信息的处理，一旦远离视网膜中心，彼此之间就会有一定的距离。该项目的目的是建立一个统一的框架，涵盖整个生命周期中不同复杂程度的视觉领域的神经处理。尽管经过多年的研究，这样一个统一的框架仍然缺乏：虽然我们对初级视觉皮层神经元支持的颜色和亮度的“低级”处理了解很多，但视觉处理的中间阶段更难以探测和处理。这种“中层”愿景的不同方面通常是单独研究的。我们方法的独特性在于，我们将使用相同的范例来探测不同复杂性的视野，涵盖“低级”和“中级”视觉。这种范例简单而强大：它依赖于相同的刺激，由多个定向元素（称为 Gabor 斑块的黑白光栅）组成，可以形成不同的字母，通过简单地改变参与者的任务来探测不同复杂性的视野。正在执行：a）检测目标元素是否存在，b）判断其属性，或c）判断整个字母的身份。我们将确定视野如何处理由亮度、颜色或两者定义的刺激，从而整合人眼可见的所有类型的对比度。最后，我们将在一个由 20 岁到 80 岁之间的参与者组成的大样本上进行实验。我们的实验将结合行为和神经科学技术，使用最先进的新脑电图（EEG）技术来确定哪些神经机制是与年龄相关的视觉处理变化的基础。我们将确定神经噪声增加导致与年龄相关的缺陷的程度，并将其与对比敏感度的更基本变化联系起来。这种对与年龄相关的差异的分析将为了解维持人类视觉信息处理的神经机制提供一个令人兴奋的窗口。这样，该项目不仅将为视觉感知的理论发展提供基础，还将极大地影响我们对感觉机制衰老的理解。此类信息可用于改善老年人的生活质量。

项目成果

Mirror symmetry and aging: The role of stimulus figurality and attention to colour.

镜像对称和衰老：刺激形象的作用和对颜色的关注。

• DOI: http://dx.10.3758/s13414-022-02565-5
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Attention, perception & psychophysics
• 作者: Martinovic J

Age-related changes in low and midlevel vision: assessing the information degradation and neural inhibition accounts

中低视力的年龄相关变化：评估信息退化和神经抑制帐户

• 发表时间: 2021
• 作者: Reuther J

Characterizing the in-out asymmetry in visual crowding.

表征视觉拥挤中的进出不对称。

• DOI: http://dx.10.1167/jov.21.11.10
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of vision
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Chakravarthi R

Linking early to mid-level processes through EEG multivariate pattern analysis

通过脑电图多元模式分析将早期到中期过程联系起来

• 发表时间: 2021
• 作者: Reuther J

Luminance Contrast Drives Interactions between Perception and Working Memory.

亮度对比度驱动感知和工作记忆之间的相互作用。

• DOI: http://dx.10.1162/jocn_a_01852
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Journal of cognitive neuroscience
• 影响因子: 3.2
• 作者: Kosilo M