Probing perception and attention using primate optogenetics

利用灵长类光遗传学探测感知和注意力

• 批准号: 8722565
• 负责人: JOHN H REYNOLDS
• 金额: $ 46.67万
• 依托单位: SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8722565
• 关键词: Accounting; Area; Attention; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Autistic Disorder; Behavioral; Brain; Brain Diseases; Brain Part; Cognition; Color; Color Perception; Computer Simulation; Data; Disadvantaged; Discrimination; Disease; Etiology; Goals; Impairment; Interneurons; Judgment; Lasers; Lead; Lesion; Light; Lighting; Macaca; Maps; Measures; Mediating; Methods; Microscopic; Modeling; Monkeys; Neocortex; Neurons; Parents; Perception; Play; Positioning Attribute; Primates; Process; Proteins; Research; Research Personnel; Rhodopsin; Role; Sampling; Schizophrenia; Sensory Process; Staging; Stream; Testing; V4 neuron; Viral; Work; area V4; attentional modulation; awake; cognitive function; falls; in vivo; innovation; insight; meetings; microstimulation; neglect; neural circuit; neuromechanism; neurophysiology; novel strategies; optical fiber; optogenetics; receptive field; research study; response; retinotopic; selective expression; sensor; sensory discrimination; theories; tool; visual process; visual processing

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the proposed research, we will use a newly developed primate optogenetic tool, which enables us to create reversible "micro lesions" within the neocortex of awake, behaving monkeys. Using this tool, we will test and quantify the role of macaque Area V4, an intermediate stage of processing within the ventral visual processing stream. In Aim 1, we will examine how this new tool modulates the gain of neuronal responses, and will quantify the region of activation as a function of illumination level. Area V4 has a patchy organization, with some regions being selective for color, and others selective for orientation. In Aim 2, we will test the role of V4 in the perception of color and of orientation, by having monkeys make fine discriminations of color and orientation, while we inactivate patches color- or orientation-selective neurons. We will examine whether activating the neurons tuned for color impairs color judgments, and not orientation judgments, and whether activating the neurons tuned for orientation impairs orientation judgments, and not color judgments. We will also examine whether this impairment is greater when we inactivate neurons tuned for the discriminanda or, alternatively, tuned such that the steep part of the tuning curve is suited to discriminate among discriminanda. In Aim 3, we will use optogenetic micro lesions to test whether V4 plays a causal role in mediating attentional selection. The data we collect will provide the most direct evidence for or against the proposition that V4 plays a causal role in the perception of color and of orientation, and whether it plays a causal role in attentional selection. In addition, the proposed research will demonstrate the use of this new optogenetic tool, and we will make it publicly available, so that other researchers working in primates and in other species, can use this tool to test theories of perception, cognition and action.

描述（由申请人提供）：在拟议的研究中，我们将使用一种新开发的灵长类光遗传学工具，该工具使我们能够在清醒、行为正常的猴子的新皮质内产生可逆的“微损伤”。使用这个工具，我们将测试和量化猕猴 V4 区的作用，V4 区是腹侧视觉处理流中处理的中间阶段。在目标 1 中，我们将研究这种新工具如何调节神经元反应的增益，并将激活区域量化为照明水平的函数。 V4 区域的组织不完整，一些区域根据颜色进行选择，而另一些区域则根据方向进行选择。在目标 2 中，我们将测试 V4 在颜色和方向感知中的作用，方法是让猴子对颜色和方向进行精细辨别，同时我们灭活斑块颜色或方向选择性神经元。我们将检查激活针对颜色调整的神经元是否会损害颜色判断，而不是方向判断，以及激活针对方向调整的神经元是否会损害方向判断，而不是颜色判断。我们还将检查当我们使针对判别器调整的神经元失活时，或者进行调整以使调整曲线的陡峭部分适合于判别器之间的判别时，这种损害是否更大。在目标 3 中，我们将使用光遗传学微损伤来测试 V4 是否在介导注意力选择中发挥因果作用。我们收集的数据将为支持或反对 V4 在颜色和方向感知中发挥因果作用以及它是否在注意力选择中发挥因果作用这一命题提供最直接的证据。此外，拟议的研究将展示这种新的光遗传学工具的用途，我们将把它公开，以便其他研究灵长类动物和其他物种的研究人员可以使用这个工具来测试感知、认知和行动的理论。