Association cortex has roles in sensory and motor function, but the link between these roles is unknown. MST neurons respond to visual and vestibular signals about the heading of self-movement. However, their role in behavior is unclear because they have been studied during fixation tasks that are unrelated to heading. We view MST as linking sensory processing to the active control of heading. We will test this view by studying interactions between heading control and the heading responses of MST neurons. This theoretical framework will be tested as three specific hypotheses related to active heading control: 1) We predict that MST's response to heading stimuli will be enhanced when those stimuli control behavior. These responses will show graded enhancements during gradual turning toward the desired heading. 3) The strongest effects will be seen when the animal uses those stimuli to actively control its heading. Our novel laboratory combines optic flow, object motion, and whole-body movement heading stimuli. All three Specific Aims use comparable delayed match-to-sample paradigms to test the behavioral significance of heading responses. We will examine several levels of neural organization: single neuron firing, the synchrony of multiple neuron firing, neural firing, neural population signals, and functional-anatomic relations. Our goal is to determine if MST neuronal response to heading stimuli are influenced by the use of those stimuli to actively control self-movement. This tests whether MST should be viewed as a passive sensory processor or as a link between heading sensation and heading control. The results will be relevant to the neural mechanisms underlying disorders of spatial orientation and to the common errors of heading control that cause accidents and endanger us all at enormous cost to society.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01EY010287-10S1
Application #
7027338
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
1994-07-01
Project End
2005-06-30
Budget Start
2004-03-01
Budget End
2005-06-30
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$32,754
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Rochester
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Dentistry
DUNS #
041294109
City
Rochester
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14627
Sato, Nobuya; Page, William K; Duffy, Charles J (2013) Task contingencies and perceptual strategies shape behavioral effects on neuronal response profiles. J Neurophysiol 109:546-56
Fernandez, Roberto; Monacelli, Anthony; Duffy, Charles J (2013) Visual motion event related potentials distinguish aging and Alzheimer's disease. J Alzheimers Dis 36:177-83
Fernandez, Roberto; Duffy, Charles J (2012) Early Alzheimer's disease blocks responses to accelerating self-movement. Neurobiol Aging 33:2551-60
Velarde, Carla; Perelstein, Elizabeth; Ressmann, Wendy et al. (2012) Independent deficits of visual word and motion processing in aging and early Alzheimer's disease. J Alzheimers Dis 31:613-21
Kishore, Sarita; Hornick, Noah; Sato, Nobuya et al. (2012) Driving strategy alters neuronal responses to self-movement: cortical mechanisms of distracted driving. Cereb Cortex 22:201-8
Kavcic, Voyko; Vaughn, William; Duffy, Charles J (2011) Distinct visual motion processing impairments in aging and Alzheimer's disease. Vision Res 51:386-95
Mapstone, Mark; Duffy, Charles J (2010) Approaching objects cause confusion in patients with Alzheimer's disease regarding their direction of self-movement. Brain 133:2690-701
Yu, Chen Ping; Page, William K; Gaborski, Roger et al. (2010) Receptive field dynamics underlying MST neuronal optic flow selectivity. J Neurophysiol 103:2794-807
Sato, Nobuya; Kishore, Sarita; Page, William K et al. (2010) Cortical neurons combine visual cues about self-movement. Exp Brain Res 206:283-97
Dubin, Marc J; Duffy, Charles J (2009) Neuronal encoding of the distance traversed by covert shifts of spatial attention. Neuroreport 20:49-55

Showing the most recent 10 out of 30 publications