Neural Computations Underlying Visual Preception

为了理解人类视觉系统中发生的计算并最终缓解疾病， 必须了解该系统在自然情况下是如何工作的。尽管取得了巨大的成功， 在过去四十年的神经生理学研究中，几乎所有的数据都是在 极大地简化了行为情况，并简化了视觉输入。拟议的长期目标 研究的目的是阐明在自然视觉情况下负责感知的神经处理， 人类的经验。初步数据显示，自然视觉的关键要素，包括扫视和 自然视觉环境对初级视皮层的信息表征有显著影响。它 似乎只有通过自然的视觉输入才能完全理解视觉处理的基本方面 和行为。拟议的实验将建立自然背景和模式的关键作用， 眼动和注视在两个特定的目标：1）解释为什么扫视在 V1响应2)确定视觉环境的空间和时间方面，这是重要的， 自然视觉这些实验背后的基本原理是，为了填补我们理解的差距， 自然视觉处理，我们必须进行实验，逐步建立一个桥梁， 传统的实验室范例和自然视觉。这项研究的意义在于， 迈出了下一个关键的一步，使我们更接近于理解视觉系统的功能， 人类遇到的情况。这是解决视觉缺陷所需的知识。

To understand the computations that take place in the human visual system and ultimately palliate disorders, it is essential to know how the system works in natural situations. Despite the immense success of neurophysiological research over the past forty years, it is the case that virtually all data were collected in greatly simplified behavioral situations and with simplified visual input. The long term goal of the proposed research is to elucidate the neural processing responsible for perception in natural visual situations that humans experience. Preliminary data show that key elements of natural vision including saccades and natural visual context have significant effects on the representation of information in primary visual cortex. It appears that fundamental aspects of visual processing can only be fully understood with natural visual input and behavior. The proposed experiments will establish the critical roles of natural context and patterns of eye movements and fixations in two specific aims: 1) Explain why saccades play a fundamental role in shaping V1 responses. 2) Identify the spatial and temporal aspects of visual context that are important in natural vision. The rationale behind the experiments is that in order to fill the gap in our understanding of natural visual processing we must conduct experiments that progressively build a bridge between conventional laboratory paradigms and natural vision. The significance of the proposed research is that it takes the next critical step bringing us significantly closer to an understanding of visual system function in situations encountered by humans. This is the knowledge needed to work toward solutions to visual deficits.