Processing of Contour Junctions in Area V1

描述（由申请人提供）：轮廓连接是视觉场景的常见特征，在塑造我们对视觉世界的解释方面发挥着关键作用。这里提出的实验的目标是描述初级视觉皮层中的神经元对线交叉点的反应，并了解内在皮层电路的不同方面如何有助于皮层激活的结果模式。具体而言，拟议的实验旨在：1）确定群体和单个单元对线交叉点的反应是否显示出成分刺激之间的非线性相互作用的证据，以及这些相互作用是否会产生类似于线条交叉时观察到的感知方向变化的方向调整变化2）以了解局部皮层地形与神经元对线条交叉的反应之间的关系3）以评估线交叉产生非线性响应的视网膜定位标度（retinotopicscale）4）以确定对交叉的神经响应的时间过程和潜在的突触机制。这些实验探讨了线交叉点在V1中的表现方式，为V1处理复杂刺激的能力以及它们在有意识的方向感知中的作用提供了见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Contour junctions are common features of visual scenes and play a critical role in shaping our interpretation of the visual world. The goal of the experiments proposed here is to characterize the responses of neurons in the primary visual cortex to line intersections, and to understand how different aspects of intrinsic cortical circuitry may contribute to resulting patterns of cortical activation. Specifically, the proposed experiments aim to: 1) determine whether population and single-unit responses to line intersections show evidence of non-linear interactions between component stimuli, and whether these interactions produce shifts in orientation tuning similar to changes in perceived orientation that observed when lines cross 2) to understand the relationship between local cortical topography and the responses of neurons to line intersections 3) to assess the retinotopic scale over which line intersections produce non-linear responses 4) to determine the time course and underlying synaptic mechanisms of neural responses to intersections. These experiments explore the way in which line intersections are represented in V1, providing insights into the capacity of V1 to process complex stimuli, as well as their role in the conscious perception of orientation.