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的是描述初级视觉皮质神经元对线交叉的反应，并了解内在皮质回路的不同方面如何对导致皮质激活的模式做出贡献。具体地说，拟议的实验目的是：1)确定群体和单个单位对线交叉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导致方位调谐的变化，类似于当线交叉时观察到的感知方向的变化。2)了解局部皮质地形图和神经元对线交叉的反应之间的关系3)评估线交叉产生非线性反应的视网膜尺度4)确定神经对交叉的反应的时间进程和潜在的突触机制。这些实验探索了线交叉点在V1中的表现方式，提供了对V1处理复杂刺激的能力以及它们在有意识地感知方向中的作用的见解。

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.