Cortical Contributions to Visual Slant Perception

描述（由申请人提供）：我们提出的工作旨在了解神经活动如何引起对3D表面取向的准确感知。虽然已经确定大脑的计算允许2D视网膜投影产生丰富的视觉感知， 3D视觉场景，大脑如何做到这一点是未知的。在这里，我们提出了一种双管齐下的方法，我们记录了可能参与3D表面取向（3D-SO）感知（CIP和V3 A）的2个大脑区域中的神经元，并使用可逆失活来证明这些区域可能的因果作用。最近的工作表明，CIP和V3 A包含的细胞是针对3D-SO调整的，我们提出的研究将试图确定当动物被要求执行判断3D表面方向的感知任务时，CIP和V3 A中的神经活动如何与行为相关（目标1）。我们将记录每个大脑区域的神经元，同时恒河猴执行精细的倾斜辨别任务，判断倾斜的平面是向后倾斜还是向前倾斜。选择概率和ROC分析将用于确定单个神经元预测任务中选择行为的程度。群体解码和模拟，然后将用于评估CIP和V3 A的选择相关的活动在人口水平上的差异。在研究CIP和V3 A神经活动与行为之间的关系后，我们将使用可逆失活来确定这些区域中的每一个在基于双眼和单眼线索判断倾斜的能力中的相对重要性（目的2）。如果任何一个区域在倾斜感知中起着因果作用，那么失活应该会降低我们在心理物理任务中的表现。 我们的研究将回答关于3D-SO感知的问题，但也将提供对神经活动如何引起行为的更全面的理解，这是神经科学的基本问题。解决这个问题对于了解大脑在正常运作时如何工作至关重要，但也有必要治疗各种大脑疾病，特别是那些脑机接口提供一些康复希望的疾病（例如失明和脊髓损伤）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our proposed work seeks to understand how neural activity gives rise to the accurate perception of 3D surface orientation. While it is established that the brain's computations allow 2D retinal projections to give rise to the perception of a rich 3D visual scene, how the brain does this is unknown. Here we propose a 2 pronged approach where we record neurons in 2 brain areas likely to be involved in 3D surface orientation (3D-SO) perception (CIP and V3A) and use reversible inactivation to demonstrate the likely causal role(s) of these areas. Recent work has indicated that CIP and V3A contain cells which are tuned for 3D-SO, and our proposed research will seek to determine how neural activity in CIP and V3A relates to behavior when animals are asked to perform a perceptual task judging 3D surface orientation (Aim 1). We will record from neurons in each brain area while a rhesus monkey performs a fine slant discrimination task, judging whether slanted planes are leaning backward or forward. Choice probability and ROC analysis will be used to determine the degree to which an individual neuron predicts choice behavior in the task. Population decoding and simulations will then be used to assess the differences in CIP and V3A's choice related activity at the population level. After studying the relationship between neural activity in CIP and V3A and behavior, we will using reversible inactivation to determine the relative importance of each of these areas in the ability to judge slant based on both binocular and monocular cues (Aim 2). If either area has a causal role in slant perception, inactivation should diminish performance in our psychophysical task. Our research will answer questions regarding the perception of 3D-SO, but will also provide a more general understanding of how neural activity gives rise to behavior, a question which is fundamental to neuroscience. Answering this question is critical to learning how the brain works when it is functioning normally, but will also be necessary to treat a variety of brain disorders, particularly those for which Brain-Machine interfaces offer some hope for recovery (e.g. blindness and spinal cord injury).