Modulation of Microsaccades and Correlated Neural Responses as a Function of Viewing Task

微跳视和相关神经反应的调节作为观看任务的函数

• 批准号: 0852636
• 负责人: Susana Martinez-Conde
• 金额: $ 62.65万
• 依托单位: St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-10-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0852636&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Modulation; Microsaccades; Correlated; Neural; Responses

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).People are often surprised to learn that their eyes never stop moving, even when they fixate their gaze. Even more surprising: if our eyes did stop moving, we would become blind to stationary objects due to a brain process called "neural adaptation". Since we fixate our gaze about 80% of the time, fixational eye movements are responsible for driving most of our visual experience of stationary objects. The physiology and perception of fixational eye movements are therefore critical to understanding the neural mechanisms that overcome neural adaptation and maintain visual awareness. A type of fixational eye movement, called microsaccades, produces bursts of neural activity in visual system neurons and counteracts adaptation and visual fading. However, no study to date has determined the role of microsaccadic dynamics (rate, velocity, and magnitude) on high-level visual processes, from either a perceptual or a physiological viewpoint. With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde and colleagues at the Barrow Neurological Institute will address this gap in knowledge by determining the relationship between microsaccadic dynamics and a variety of high-level viewing tasks. The project will measure microsaccade dynamics during viewing tasks with varying attentional/cognitive demands and will also examine the neural activity that occurs in correlation to microsaccades during such viewing conditions.Because much, if not most, of our visual experience occurs during fixation, understanding the role of fixational eye movements in perception and cognition is of utmost importance. This research will determine how viewing conditions differentially modify the dynamics of microsaccades, as well as their impact on neural activity and successful task completion. The funding from this application will be used to support a new research group at the Barrow Neurological Institute which can provide research training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral trainees in neuroscience. It will broadly disseminate results through publications to scientific as well as lay audiences, thus enhancing scientific understanding by the public.

该奖项是根据《2009 年美国复苏和再投资法案》（公法 111-5）提供资金的。人们常常惊讶地发现，即使他们注视着自己的目光，他们的眼睛也永远不会停止移动。更令人惊讶的是：如果我们的眼睛确实停止移动，由于称为“神经适应”的大脑过程，我们会对静止的物体失明。由于我们大约 80% 的时间都在注视视线，因此注视眼球运动驱动了我们对静止物体的大部分视觉体验。因此，注视眼球运动的生理学和感知对于理解克服神经适应和维持视觉意识的神经机制至关重要。一种称为微扫视的注视眼球运动会在视觉系统神经元中产生神经活动爆发，并抵消适应和视觉衰退。然而，迄今为止，还没有研究从感知或生理的角度确定微跳动动力学（速率、速度和幅度）对高级视觉过程的作用。在国家科学基金会的支持下，苏珊娜·马丁内斯·康德博士和巴罗神经学研究所的同事将通过确定微跳动动态与各种高级观看任务之间的关系来解决这一知识空白。该项目将测量具有不同注意力/认知需求的观看任务期间的微扫视动态，还将检查在这种观看条件下与微扫视相关的神经活动。因为我们的大部分（如果不是大部分）视觉体验发生在注视期间，所以了解注视眼球运动在感知和认知中的作用至关重要。 这项研究将确定观看条件如何差异性地改变微跳动的动态，以及它们对神经活动和成功完成任务的影响。该申请的资金将用于支持巴罗神经学研究所的一个新研究小组，该研究小组可以为神经科学领域的本科生、研究生和博士后学员提供研究培训机会。它将通过出版物向科学界和普通观众广泛传播研究成果，从而增强公众对科学的理解。