Collaborative Research: NSC-FO: Active vision during natural behavior: More than meets the eye?

视觉是视觉大脑区域内的专门神经元处理落在眼睛上的图像的过程。视觉处理早期阶段的神经元传递有关视觉场景的小部分的信息，例如相机中的像素探测器。例如，视觉皮层中的神经元可能对视觉空间中特定位置的小白条反应最好。当白条是我们之前见过的物体的一部分或者我们正在走向的物体的一部分时，这个示例神经元是否应该做出不同的反应？心理学可能会这么认为，但近 60 年来，大多数研究视觉感知神经基础的科学家都隐含地假设视觉皮层神经元的反应仅取决于落在眼睛上的视觉图像。越来越清楚的是，视觉皮层中的神经元确实关心行为背景——以及大脑本身的状态。这些外部、内部和情境因素影响神经元处理视觉场景的方式。这些“非视觉”因素究竟在多大程度上影响视觉皮层神经元仍然是该项目旨在解决的一个重要的悬而未决的问题。实验将记录雪貂自由探索自然环境时视觉皮层神经元的情况。该项目将使用位置和眼球跟踪摄像头重新创建雪貂在环境中所见的电影，并跟踪与行为相关的其他可观察变量。然后，当雪貂被麻醉时，电影将重播给雪貂，从而直接测量这两种截然不同的环境中神经元对相同视觉刺激的反应的差异。分析将比较自然条件和麻醉条件下神经元反应的生理质量和统计特性，以量化自然环境对神经元反应的贡献。结果会将自由移动环境中的差异与特定来源联系起来，例如眼睛和头部运动等运动动作、对特定视觉特征的熟悉程度及其行为相关性。实验将为这些来源如何影响神经元活动的模型提供信息，为理解非视网膜输入对感官知觉的功能奠定基础。该项目将为自然视觉的长期研究奠定基础。该项目由理解神经和认知系统综合策略（NCS）资助，这是一个由生物学（BIO）、计算机和信息科学与工程（CISE）、教育和人力资源（EHR）、工程（ENG）以及社会、行为和经济科学（SBE）理事会联合支持的多学科项目。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过评估认为值得支持利用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Vision is a process by which the image falling on the eyes is processed by specialized neurons within visual brain areas. Neurons in the early stages of visual processing convey information about small bits of the visual scene, like pixel-detectors in a camera. For example, a neuron in visual cortex might respond best to a small white bar at a particular location in visual space. Should this example neuron respond differently when the white bar is part of an object that we have seen before, or one that we are moving towards? Psychology might suggest so, but for almost 60 years, most scientists studying the neural basis of visual perception have implicitly assumed that responses of neurons in visual cortex depend only on the visual image falling on the eyes. It is increasingly clear that neurons in the visual cortex do indeed care about behavioral context – as well as the state of the brain itself. These external, internal, and contextual factors influence how neurons process the visual scene. Exactly how much these “non-visual” factors influence visual cortical neurons remains a significant open question that this project aims to address.The experiments will record from neurons in the visual cortex of ferrets as they freely explore a naturalistic environment. Using position and eye-tracking cameras, the project will both recreate a movie of what the ferret saw within the environment, and track other observable variables related to behavior. The movie will then be replayed to the ferret while it is anesthetized, thus directly measuring any differences in neuronal responses to the same visual stimulation in these two very different contexts. Analysis will compare the physiological quality and statistical properties of neuronal responses across naturalistic and anesthetized conditions to quantify the contribution of natural context to neuronal responses. Results will relate the differences in the freely moving context to specific sources, like motor actions such as eye and head movements, familiarity with specific visual features, and their behavioral relevance. Experiments will inform models for how these sources influence neuronal activity, setting the stage for understanding the function of non-retinal inputs for sensory perception. The project will provide a foundation for long-term studies of natural vision.This project is funded by Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NCS), a multidisciplinary program jointly supported by the Directorates for Biology (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Engineering (ENG), and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.