Studies of Motion Vision

De Valois/ De Valois（0111059）运动视觉的研究摘要这个项目旨在增加我们对大脑如何分析视觉运动的理解。从视觉上区分静止物体和运动物体是一个非常困难的问题。猕猴视觉系统中神经元对静止和移动物体的生理反应将被检查，并与人类观察者在类似任务中的行为反应进行比较。我们将讨论两个主要的副主题：分析视觉运动的早期步骤是在第一视觉皮层区（V1）产生方向选择神经元，这些神经元只有当物体在有限的视觉区域内向特定的方向移动时才会做出反应。研究的一个主题是这些细胞是如何产生的;特别是，它们的输入来自哪里，以及它们如何组合以产生方向选择性。一个特定的模型将通过对定向V1细胞和向定向细胞提供输入的外侧膝状体核（LGN）中的细胞进行几个实验来测试。这些实验的结果将与相关的心理物理学研究的结果进行比较。第二个主题将是颜色视觉系统提供输入或与视觉运动系统相互作用的方式。对人类观察者的心理物理学实验将检查颜色交替对亮度变化光栅运动方向的辨别的影响。将使用不同的颜色组合，包括优先激发LGN中特定类别的光感受器或神经元的颜色组合。早期的工作预测了不同颜色组合的差异效果。生理学研究将检验颜色变化对V1中方向选择神经元反应的影响，并与人类的行为反应进行比较。这些研究将大大推进我们对人类和其他灵长类动物视觉运动系统初始机制的理解。除了增加我们对大脑及其组织的了解外，这项工作还将有助于促进健康和人类理解。从这些研究中获得的更全面的了解也可能直接应用于照明系统的设计，特别是对于移动车辆，以及在人为因素影响很大的其他情况下。该项目将有助于本科生和研究生的科学教育和培训。研究生将参与这些研究的设计，性能，分析和出版。本科生将担任实验室技术员和心理物理学科。在可能的情况下，他们还将参与研究的设计、执行、分析和出版。许多在这些实验室从事类似项目的前研究生在视觉研究方面建立了杰出的职业生涯。在这些实验室工作过的几名前大学生已经成为卫生工作者或科学家。过去受雇于类似项目的学生来自不同性别和不同族裔群体。这一研究与这些实验室以前的工作一样，预计将增加少数群体学生参与科学研究的机会，并为自己未来的职业生涯做好准备。

De Valois/ De Valois (0111059)Studies of Motion Vision Lay AbstractThis project is designed to increase our understanding of how the brain analyzes visual motion. Telling the difference visually between stationary and moving objects is a very difficult problem. The physiological responses of neurons in the visual system of macaque monkeys to stationary and moving objects will be examined and compared to the behavioral responses of human observers in similar tasks. Two major subtopics will be considered.An early step in the analysis of visual motion is the creation in the first visual cortical area (V1) of directionally-selective neurons, neurons that respond only if an object moves in a particular direction within the limited visual region from which the cell receives inputs. One topic of investigation will be how these cells are created; in particular, where do their inputs come from and how are they combined to produce directional selectivity. A specific model will be tested by several experiments on both directional V1 cells and on the cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) that provide inputs to the directional cells. The results of these experiments will be compared to the results from related psychophysical studies on human observers.A second topic will be the way the color-vision system provides input to or interacts with the visual motion system. Psychophysical experiments on human observers will examine the effects of color alternation on the discrimination of the direction of motion of a luminance-varying grating. Different chromatic combinations will be used, including those that preferentially excite specific classes of photoreceptors or neurons in the LGN. Earlier work predicts differential effects for different color combinations. Physiological studies will examine the effects of color alternation on the responses of directionally-selective neurons in V1 for comparison to behavioral responses from humans.These studies will significantly advance our understanding of the initial mechanisms of the visual motion system in humans and other primates. In addition to increasing our knowledge of the brain and its organization, this work will contribute to the advancement of health and human understanding. The fuller understanding gained from these studies may also have direct application in the design of lighting systems, particularly for moving vehicles, and in other situations in which human factors concerns are significant. This project will contribute to the scientific education and training of both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students will be involved in the design, performance, analysis and publication of these studies. Undergraduate students will work as laboratory technicians and psychophysical subjects. When possible, they will also be involved in the design, performance, analysis and publication of the studies. Many former graduate students who have worked on similar projects in these laboratories have built distinguished careers in the study of vision. Several former undergraduates who have worked in these laboratories have become health workers or scientists. Students employed on similar projects in the past have come from both genders and many ethnic groups. This research, like previous work in these laboratories, is expected to increase the opportunities for students from minority groups to participate in scientific research and prepare for future careers of their own.