V1 activity during active visual behavior

• Grant number: 21/08927-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Physiological Psychology
• Agreement: Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Rohenkohl
• Grantee: Melissa Hongjin Song Zhu
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/10429-5 - Long-range brain connectivity during active visual behavior, AP.JP

Abstract

We can quickly perceive and identify objects present in the center of the visual field. However, several steps in the visual pathway are required for the success of this process. Every time we look at something, the receptors in the retina "translate" the light signals presented in its receptive field into chemical and electrical signals. Thus, especially at the early stages of visual processing, a single object is represented in the activity of large neuronal populations. To make matters even more complicated, our eyes - and therefore the receptive fields in the retina and early visual cortical areas- move around 3 to 4 times per second, constantly bringing objects of interest to the center of the visual field. The mechanism by which the activity of these neural populations produces a coherent and stable perception of the visual world - and at the speed determined by the eye movements- is not yet fully understood. To investigate this phenomenon, in this project, we will analyze the neural signals from primary visual area V1 in common marmosets during short fixation periods in a free-viewing task. (AU)