The Vanderbilt University
Grant: $7,434 - National Institutes of Health - Jun. 5, 2009
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Award Description: R01-EY08890 supports investigations of the neural mechanisms that select targets for orienting gaze to gain a better understanding of how the visual system decides where to look. The research program builds on evidence obtained in our laboratory and others that visually guided eye movements are the outcome of two major stages of processing – a visual selection process and a saccade preparation process. The main goal in the current grant period is to describe the functional relationships between ensembles of neurons in the frontal eye field (FEF) of macaque monkeys performing visual search tasks designed to distinguish visual selection from saccade preparation. The research program is defined by these three aims: Aim 1. This aim addresses basic questions about the visual selection process: (A) Is the decision where to look a gradual process distributed across participating neurons, or a rapid process coordinated among neurons? (B) Do many neurons recorded simultaneously discriminate the target from distractors more reliably than do single neurons recorded separately? (C) How do the properties of non-target stimuli influence the neural representation of the target? (D) How late during visual processing can new information influence target selection? Aim 2. This aim addresses basic questions about sensory-motor mapping: (A) When does saccade preparation begin relative to target selection; that is, does visual processing influence saccade programming in a discrete or continuous fashion? (B) How does a particular stimulus get converted into an arbitrary saccade command? (C) How late in a trial can new visual information influence saccade preparation; when does the decision to make a particular movement become irrevocable? Aim 3. This aim addresses basic questions about the effects of experience on visual search. (A) What changes in the neural selection process coincide with changes in performance when stimulus features or search dimension change or repeat across trials? (B) What changes in the neural selection process coincide with the priming observed when the conjunction search target changes across sessions? (C) What changes in the neural selection process coincide with the change from a feature search to a generalized oddball search strategy? The purpose of this supplement is to provide an opportunity for a talented undergraduate student to work on this project.
Project Description: The main goal in the current grant period is to describe the functional relationships between ensembles of neurons in the frontal eye field (FEF) of macaque monkeys performing visual search tasks designed to distinguish visual selection from saccade preparation. The research program is defined by these three aims: Aim 1. This aim addresses basic questions about the visual selection process: (A) Is the decision where to look a gradual process distributed across participating neurons, or a rapid process coordinated among neurons? (B) Do many neurons recorded simultaneously discriminate the target from distractors more reliably than do single neurons recorded separately? (C) How do the properties of non-target stimuli influence the neural representation of the target? (D) How late during visual processing can new information influence target selection? Aim 2. This aim addresses basic questions about sensory-motor mapping: (A) When does saccade preparation begin relative to target selection; that is, does visual processing influence saccade programming in a discrete or continuous fashion? (B) How does a particular stimulus get converted into an arbitrary saccade command? (C) How late in a trial can new visual information influence saccade preparation; when does the decision to make a particular movement become irrevocable? Aim 3. This aim addresses basic questions about the effects of experience on visual search. (A) What changes in the neural selection process coincide with changes in performance when stimulus features or search dimension change or repeat across trials? (B) What changes in the neural selection process coincide with the priming observed when the conjunction search target changes across sessions? (C) What changes in the neural selection process coincide with the change from a feature search to a generalized oddball search strategy? The purpose of this supplement is to provide an opportunity for a talented undergraduate student to work on this project.
Jobs Summary: The recovery act funds for this award helped to create or retain a Undergraduate Student Worker position. (Total jobs reported: 1)
Project Status: More than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on Jun. 5, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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