Our long term goal is to understand the neural basis of complex form vision as it operates under natural viewing conditions. Decades of vision research using simple stimuli and controlled viewing conditions have produced sophisticated models of processing in the early visual system. We propose to evaluate these models directly by recording responses under conditions simulating natural vision.
In Aim 1 we propose to acquire data in area V1 using both naturalistic and more standard conventional stimuli. Quantitative methods will be used to estimate cells' spatio-temporal filtering properties from these data. The experiments and analyses will reveal how are V1 represents and processes information during natural vision. They will also reveal how these functions differ from those predicted from experiments using conventional simple stimuli.
In Aim 2, we will evaluate a range of functional computational models of area V1 to identify those models that can account for responses observed during simulated natural vision. This will be accomplished by direct statistical comparison between models. Successful completion of this Aim will result in the first computational model(s) that can account for the spatio-temporal responses of V1 neurons during natural vision.
In Aim 3 we will assess the modulatory influence of extra-retinal factors such as attention during simulated natural vision. We propose to do this by combining standard match-to-sample behavioral tasks with our naturalistic stimuli and our quantitative receptive field estimation methods. This will provide a sensitive measure of potential extra-retinal effects in area V1. Experiments on natural vision are important because they will allow us to evaluate our current theories of human visual cortical function and identify areas in which our understanding is weak. They will also allow us to address complex aspects of form vision that cannot easily be approached using more conventional methods.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY012241-04
Application #
6635663
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IFCN-8 (01))
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
2000-05-15
Project End
2005-04-30
Budget Start
2003-05-01
Budget End
2005-04-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$258,188
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Berkeley
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
124726725
City
Berkeley
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94704
Golden, James R; Vilankar, Kedarnath P; Wu, Michael C K et al. (2016) Conjectures regarding the nonlinear geometry of visual neurons. Vision Res 120:74-92
Vu, An T; Gallant, Jack L (2015) Using a novel source-localized phase regressor technique for evaluation of the vascular contribution to semantic category area localization in BOLD fMRI. Front Neurosci 9:411
Hayden, Benjamin Y; Gallant, Jack L (2013) Working memory and decision processes in visual area v4. Front Neurosci 7:18
Nishimoto, Shinji; Gallant, Jack L (2011) A three-dimensional spatiotemporal receptive field model explains responses of area MT neurons to naturalistic movies. J Neurosci 31:14551-64
Willmore, Ben D B; Mazer, James A; Gallant, Jack L (2011) Sparse coding in striate and extrastriate visual cortex. J Neurophysiol 105:2907-19
Vu, Vincent Q; Ravikumar, Pradeep; Naselaris, Thomas et al. (2011) ENCODING AND DECODING V1 FMRI RESPONSES TO NATURAL IMAGES WITH SPARSE NONPARAMETRIC MODELS. Ann Appl Stat 5:1159-1182
Willmore, Ben D B; Prenger, Ryan J; Gallant, Jack L (2010) Neural representation of natural images in visual area V2. J Neurosci 30:2102-14
Hayden, Benjamin Y; Gallant, Jack L (2009) Combined effects of spatial and feature-based attention on responses of V4 neurons. Vision Res 49:1182-7
Naselaris, Thomas; Prenger, Ryan J; Kay, Kendrick N et al. (2009) Bayesian reconstruction of natural images from human brain activity. Neuron 63:902-15
David, Stephen V; Hayden, Benjamin Y; Mazer, James A et al. (2008) Attention to stimulus features shifts spectral tuning of V4 neurons during natural vision. Neuron 59:509-21