The goal of the proposed research is to understand how 3-dimensional (3D) visual information, both about target objects and about the moving hand, is used to plan and control goal-directed hand movements. The research focuses on what depth cues the visuomotor system uses for planning and online control and how it integrates those cues. Several theoretical considerations inform the work. First, different motor behaviors admit different solutions to the problem of mapping visual information to motor behavior. We therefore address the question of whether the brain uses a common visual representation of objects or relies on different task-specific strategies for planning and controlling different types of hand movements such as hand transport and hand rotation (e.g. during grasping movements). We will measure how subjects weight binocular disparity and texture/figural cues about object layout in a scene for controlling both components of hand movements. As a probe into the modularity of visuomotor computations, we will use haptic feedback to adapt subjects' cue weights in one task and measure transfer of adaptation effects between tasks. Second, the relative contribution of different cues to motor control depends on both the reliability of the information provided by the cues and the time course with which the brain processes them. We will study how changes in cue reliability affect how the brain uses the information provided by depth cues for both planning and online control. We will also measure the time course of processing binocular disparity and texture/figural cues as they contribute to motor control using a perturbation technique developed in the previous funding period. In order to derive a deeper understanding of how cue uncertainty and timing constraints interact to determine human visuomotor performance, we will supplement the experimental studies with computational work applying methods from optimal filtering (optimal statistical estimation over time) and control.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY013319-07
Application #
7433850
Study Section
Central Visual Processing Study Section (CVP)
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
2001-01-01
Project End
2010-06-30
Budget Start
2008-07-01
Budget End
2009-06-30
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$362,394
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Rochester
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
041294109
City
Rochester
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14627
Sipe, G O; Lowery, R L; Tremblay, M-È et al. (2016) Microglial P2Y12 is necessary for synaptic plasticity in mouse visual cortex. Nat Commun 7:10905
Kelly, Emily A; Tremblay, Marie-Eve; Gahmberg, Carl G et al. (2014) Subcellular localization of intercellular adhesion molecule-5 (telencephalin) in the visual cortex is not developmentally regulated in the absence of matrix metalloproteinase-9. J Comp Neurol 522:676-88
Sims, Chris R; Jacobs, Robert A; Knill, David C (2012) An ideal observer analysis of visual working memory. Psychol Rev 119:807-30
Issen, Laurel A; Knill, David C (2012) Decoupling eye and hand movement control: visual short-term memory influences reach planning more than saccade planning. J Vis 12:
Knill, David C; Bondada, Amulya; Chhabra, Manu (2011) Flexible, task-dependent use of sensory feedback to control hand movements. J Neurosci 31:1219-37
Sims, Chris R; Jacobs, Robert A; Knill, David C (2011) Adaptive allocation of vision under competing task demands. J Neurosci 31:928-43
Kelly, Emily A; Majewska, Ania K (2010) Chronic imaging of mouse visual cortex using a thinned-skull preparation. J Vis Exp :
Greenwald, Hal S; Knill, David C (2009) A comparison of visuomotor cue integration strategies for object placement and prehension. Vis Neurosci 26:63-72
Greenwald, Hal S; Knill, David C (2009) Cue integration outside central fixation: a study of grasping in depth. J Vis 9:11.1-16
Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Knill, David C (2009) Humans use visual and remembered information about object location to plan pointing movements. J Vis 9:24.1-19

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