Neural Coding of Complex 3D Shapes

描述（由申请人提供）：我们的世界由3D对象组成，与该世界的成功交互取决于3D对象信息的神经处理。这就是视力对我们的健康、幸福和生存至关重要的原因。我们的长期目标是了解复杂的三维物体信息在感知、记忆和认知中是如何处理的。在神经水平上理解这些问题将影响视觉失认症的临床方法，改变自闭症等神经系统疾病的视觉处理，以及改变阿尔茨海默病等神经系统疾病的记忆和决策功能。我们最近开发了一种新的神经记录实验的自适应采样策略，其中对象形状响应的测试逐渐适应基于神经反馈。这种高效的采样策略使我们能够测量神经元发出的特定对象信息，这在以前的实验策略中是不可能的。我们现在计划利用这种方法来研究3D物体感知，记忆和认知的神经基础，通过测量执行视觉记忆和辨别任务的猴子的下颞叶视觉皮层（IT），记忆相关的嗅周和内嗅皮层（PR和ER）以及决策相关的背外侧前额叶皮层（PFC）的神经反应。这些区域是人类大脑中高级物体视觉、记忆和决策区域的同源物;只有在猴子身上才能在神经编码水平上研究它们。我们实验的独特之处在于使用自适应采样来识别个体神经反应所发出的特定信息，这是该领域以前研究中缺少的一个关键因素。我们将使用这种方法来解决三个具体的问题：（1）感知：3D对象是根据它们的中轴形状来表示的吗？这是一个关于大脑中物体表征的长期理论，从未被直接测试过。(2)记忆：在IT和PR/ER中形成的3D视点之间的记忆关联是如何形成的？将同一物体的不同视图关联起来是视觉计算中最困难的方面。我们将进行第一次直接测试的流行理论，观点协会是通过暴露在旋转物体在自然视觉学习。(3)认知：IT和PFC中的3D形状信息如何与行为决策相关？3D物体感知的最终用途是指导决策和行为。我们的实验将是第一次尝试展示复杂3D形状的神经编码如何与物体辨别行为相关。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our world is composed of 3D objects, and successful interaction with that world depends on neural processing of 3D object information. This is what makes vision so critical to our health, happiness and survival. Our long- term goal is to understand how complex 3D object information is processed in perception, memory, and cognition. Understanding these issues at a neural level will impact clinical approaches to visual agnosias, altered visual processing in neurological conditions like autism, and altered memory and decision functions in neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease. We recently developed a novel adaptive sampling strategy for neural recording experiments, in which tests of object shape responses gradually adapt based on neural feedback. This highly efficient sampling strategy allows us to measure the specific object information signaled by neurons, which was not possible with previous experimental strategies. We now plan to leverage this approach to investigate the neural basis of 3D object perception, memory, and cognition, by measuring neural responses in inferotemporal visual cortex (IT), memory-related perirhinal and entorhinal cortex (PR and ER), and decision-related dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) of monkeys performing visual memory and discrimination tasks. These areas are the homologues of high-level object vision, memory, and decision areas in the human brain; only in monkeys can they be studied at the neural coding level. The unique aspect of our experiments is the use of adaptive sampling to identify the specific information signaled by individual neural responses, a critical element missing from previous research in this area. We will use this approach to address three specific questions: (1) Perception: Are 3D objects represented in terms of their medial axis shapes? This is a long-standing theory about object representation in the brain that has never been directly tested. (2) Memory: How are memory associations between 3D viewpoints formed in IT and PR/ER? Associating different views of the same object is the most computationally difficult aspect of vision. We will perform the first direct test of the prevailing theory that viewpoint association is learned through exposure to rotating objects during natural vision. (3) Cognition: How does 3D shape information in IT and PFC relate to behavioral decisions? The ultimate utility of 3D object perception is its use in guiding decision and behavior. Our experiment will be the first attempt to show how neural coding of complex 3D shape is related to object discrimination behavior.