CONVERGENT PROCESSING ACROSS VISUAL AND HAPTIC CIRCUITS FOR 3D SHAPE PERCEPTION

理论框架：视觉和触觉共享一个关键功能--对3D对象的感知 形状。我们交替和同时使用视觉和触觉来识别、理解和 基于对其3D形状和细节的理解，与真实世界的对象进行物理交互 机械功能。方法，创新，物种：我们提出了一种新的探索 潜在3D对象感知的视觉/触觉电路相互作用：(I)在 单个神经元和动作电位，(Ii)跨局部神经网络的范围， 线阵记录在猴的IT中，以及(III)在主动抓取的行为背景下进行辨别 看不见的物体。目标1假设检验：触觉3D物体辨别唤起不同的， 猕猴前部IT中特定形状的神经群体反应模式。这一预测结果将 提供了强有力的证据，表明视觉对象通路的最后阶段也带有触觉起源 信息足以通过触摸来区分3D形状，正如人类功能磁共振所建议的那样。 目的2假设检验：猴的触觉形状依赖反应体现了一种 3D形状的组成几何代码，类似于视觉3D形状的IT代码。我们有 先前显示，对3D物体刺激作出反应的IT神经元编码体积形状碎片 高维几何空间。这些信号为IT合奏提供了基本要素 神经元将物体表示为3D空间组合。我们预测类似的组合编码 对于触觉3D形状，显示视觉和触觉融合在同一强大的编码解决方案上。 目标3假设检验：单个IT神经元携带相同的3D形状信息 触觉和视觉对象。这种一致视觉和触觉编码的预测结果是相同的 神经元将证明，前部IT携带着统一的、超模式的3D对象表征。 实现未来的BCP R01，长期目标：任何这些目标的成功都将证明 后续目标BCP R01应用程序，描述触觉和视觉电路如何相互作用： (I)在连接多个处理阶段(视觉区域V1，V2， V4，后IT，前IT；躯体感觉区SI、SII、顶上、岛)。(二)动态 将视觉和触觉电路中的3D形状信息组合并细化为一致、冗余或 从这两种模式中积累了相互矛盾的信息。(Iii)在新对象学习中互动，因为 这两种模式几乎肯定会提供相互监督，特别是在发展期间，当 视觉必须校准如此多的间接线索，以获得直接可供触摸的3D形状信息。 长期目标是了解视觉和触觉皮质回路是如何精炼、协调和 合成两种截然不同的感觉输入，以产生对3D形状的统一认知欣赏。

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Vision and touch share a critical function—perception of 3D object shape. We use vision and touch both alternatively and simultaneously to recognize, understand, and interact physically with real world objects, based on detailed apprehension of their 3D shapes and mechanical functionality. METHODS, INNOVATION, SPECIES: We propose a novel exploration of visual/haptic circuit interactions underlying 3D object perception: (i) at the spatiotemporal resolution of individual neurons and action potentials, (ii) across the scope of local neural networks studied with linear array recording in monkey IT, and (iii) in the behavioral context of active grasp to discriminate unseen objects. AIM 1 TEST OF HYPOTHESIS: Haptic 3D object discrimination evokes distinct, shape-specific neural population response patterns in anterior monkey IT. This predicted result would provide strong evidence that the final stage in the visual object pathway also carries haptic-origin information sufficient to discriminate 3D shapes through touch, as suggested by human fMRI. AIM 2 TEST OF HYPOTHESIS: Haptic shape-dependent responses in monkey IT embody a compositional geometric code for 3D shape, analogous to the IT code for visual 3D shape. We have previously shown that IT neurons responding to 3D object stimuli encode volumetric shape fragments in a high-dimensional geometric space. These signals provide the essential elements for ensembles of IT neurons to represent objects as 3D spatial compositions. We predict analogous compositional coding for haptic 3D shape, showing that vision and touch converge on the same powerful coding solution. AIM 3 TEST OF HYPOTHESIS: Individual IT neurons carry identical 3D shape information about haptic and visual objects. This predicted result of congruent visual and haptic coding by the same neurons would demonstrate that anterior IT carries a unified, supramodal 3D object representation. ENABLING A FUTURE BCP R01, LONG-TERM GOAL: Success on any of these aims would justify a subsequent TargetedBCP R01 application to characterize HOW haptic and visual circuits interact to: (i) exchange information across circuits connecting multiple processing stages (visual areas V1, V2, V4, posterior IT, anterior IT; somatosensory areas SI, SII, superior parietal, insula). (ii) dynamically combine and refine 3D shape information across visual and haptic circuits as congruent, redundant, or conflicting information accumulates from the two modalities. (iii) interact in new object learning, since the two modalities almost certainly provide mutual supervision, especially during development, when vision must calibrate so many indirect cues for 3D shape information directly available to touch. The LONGTERM GOAL is to understand how visual and haptic cortical circuits refine, reconcile, and synthesize two very different sensory inputs to produce a unified cognitive appreciation of 3D shape.