Organizers: Rich Krauzlis1, Michele Basso2; 1National Eye Institute, 2Brain Research Institute, UCLA
Presenters: Ziad Hafed, Farran Briggs, Jude Mitchell, Marlene Cohen, Yasmine El-Shamayleh, Bevil Conway
The symposium includes six highly regarded mid-career and junior investigators (Ziad Hafed, Farran Briggs, Jude Mitchell, Marlene Cohen, Yasmine El-Shamayleh, Bevil Conway) who use NHPs to study a range of topics (e.g., attention, eye movements, object and color perception) of interest to the VSS membership. Each speaker will have 15’ for their talk plus time for questions. Ziad Hafed will review how an observation about fixational eye movements, first described about 20 years ago, led to a series of studies exploring the brain circuits that control both attention and saccades. We now have a much deeper understanding of the underlying roots and implications of the correlation between attention and microsaccades, the role of subcortical and cortical visual structures in this process, and the importance of approaching vision from an active, rather than passive, perspective. Farran Briggs will describe a series of approaches using traditional and modern tools to explore how cortical feedback influences early visual processing. Transformations in visual signals traversing the feedforward retino-geniculo-cortical pathways are well understood, but the contribution of corticogeniculate feedback to visual perception is less clear. Through examinations of the morphology, physiology and function of corticogeniculate neurons, a new hypothesis emerges in which corticogeniculate feedback regulates the timing and precision of feedforward visual signal transmission. Jude Mitchell will describe the role of different classes of neurons in visual cortex. Over the past twenty years, there have been major advances towards manipulating and tagging different neuronal classes, and new molecular and recording techniques that distinguish cell class are now becoming available for use in NHPs. Jude will describe the application of these approaches in the marmoset monkey to understand how eye movements modulate early sensory processing as a function of cell class and cortical layer. Marlene Cohen will describe insights in understanding populations of neurons. Twenty years ago, most NHP work focused on the activity of single neurons and relatively simple stimuli and behaviors. It is now possible to record from many neurons in multiple brain areas while monkeys make judgments about a variety of stimulus properties. Marlene will describe recent work showing that these complex data sets can reveal strikingly simple relationships between neuronal populations and visual perception. Yasmine El-Shamayleh will review a well-established framework for studying visual object processing in the primate cerebral cortex – one that has stood the test of two decades of experimental investigation. She will then describe how she plans to leverage new, cell type-specific viral vector-based optogenetic approaches to begin to elucidate the detailed circuit-level mechanisms in extrastriate cortex that govern this visual function. Bevil Conway will discuss how functional MRI in NHPs has advanced our understanding of the ventral visual pathway. Combining fMRI with neurophysiology has facilitated the systematic study of extrastriate cortex, guided targeted recordings from neurons in functionally identified patches of cortex, and provided a direct comparison of brain activity in humans and monkeys. This work underscores the importance of understanding how functionally identified populations of neurons interact to enable perception of colors, objects, places and faces.
Presentations
Foveal action for the control of extrafoveal vision
Ziad Hafed1; 1Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Ziad Hafed will review how an observation about fixational eye movements, first described about 20 years ago, led to a series of studies exploring the brain circuits that control both attention and saccades. We now have a much deeper understanding of the underlying roots and implications of the correlation between attention and microsaccades, the role of subcortical and cortical visual structures in this process, and the importance of approaching vision from an active, rather than passive, perspective.
The role of corticogeniculate feedback in visual perception
Farran Briggs1; 1University of Rochester
Farran Briggs will describe a series of approaches using traditional and modern tools to explore how cortical feedback influences early visual processing. Transformations in visual signals traversing the feedforward retino-geniculo-cortical pathways are well understood, but the contribution of corticogeniculate feedback to visual perception is less clear. Through examinations of the morphology, physiology and function of corticogeniculate neurons, a new hypothesis emerges in which corticogeniculate feedback regulates the timing and precision of feedforward visual signal transmission.
Neural circuits for pre-saccadic attention in the marmoset monkey
Jude Mitchell1; 1University of Rochester
Jude Mitchell will describe the role of different classes of neurons in visual cortex. Over the past twenty years, there have been major advances towards manipulating and tagging different neuronal classes, and new molecular and recording techniques that distinguish cell class are now becoming available for use in NHPs. Jude will describe the application of these approaches in the marmoset monkey to understand how eye movements modulate early sensory processing as a function of cell class and cortical layer.
Multi-neuron approaches to studying visual perception and decision-making
Marlene Cohen1; 1University of Pittsburgh
Marlene Cohen will describe insights in understanding populations of neurons. Twenty years ago, most NHP work focused on the activity of single neurons and relatively simple stimuli and behaviors. It is now possible to record from many neurons in multiple brain areas while monkeys make judgments about a variety of stimulus properties. Marlene will describe recent work showing that these complex data sets can reveal strikingly simple relationships between neuronal populations and visual perception.
Neural circuits for visual object processing
Yasmine El-Shamayleh1; 1Columbia University
Yasmine El-Shamayleh will review a well-established framework for studying visual object processing in the primate cerebral cortex – one that has stood the test of two decades of experimental investigation. She will then describe how she plans to leverage new, cell type-specific viral vector-based optogenetic approaches to begin to elucidate the detailed circuit-level mechanisms in extrastriate cortex that govern this visual function.
Parallel multi-stage processing of inferior temporal cortex: faces, objects, colors and places
Bevil Conway1; 1National Eye Institute
Bevil Conway will discuss how functional MRI in NHPs has advanced our understanding of the ventral visual pathway. Combining fMRI with neurophysiology has facilitated the systematic study of extrastriate cortex, guided targeted recordings from neurons in functionally identified patches of cortex, and provided a direct comparison of brain activity in humans and monkeys. This work underscores the importance of understanding how functionally identified populations of neurons interact to enable perception of colors, objects, places and faces.