With every eye movement, the world sweeps across our retina and appears in a new position. Healthy humans, however, usually remain blissfully unaware of this, and perceive the world as stable. The long term goal of this project is to answer the fundamental unsolved question: how does the brain transform the ever-changing retinal input into a stable percept of the world? To further the mission of the National Eye Institute to research the mechanisms of visual function, the project will investigate this fundamental question using behavioral, electrophysiological, and computational methods.
The first aim of the project is to determine the robustness and stability of eye position signals in primary visual cortex.
The second aim i s to determine whether these signals are causally related to the perception of position.
The third aim i s to understand how the rapid movements created by our eyes are hidden from awareness, and to determine where in visual cortex this mechanism is implemented.
The fourth aim i s to understand what happens to visual information processing at the time of a rapid eye movement; does processing start anew with every eye movement, or is there transfer and integration of the information on the details of the visual scene?

Public Health Relevance

This project investigates mechanisms of visual perception that are essential to survival as they underlie the successful integration of sensory and motor signals that is critical to our interaction with our environment. Understanding these mechanisms will contribute to improving the health of patients suffering from diseases, such as schizophrenia, in which these mechanisms are impaired. Moreover, this research addresses lacunae in our understanding of the neural representations in early visual areas, which is critical for the future development of effective sight prostheses.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
4R01EY017605-09
Application #
9018024
Study Section
Mechanisms of Sensory, Perceptual, and Cognitive Processes Study Section (SPC)
Program Officer
Flanders, Martha C
Project Start
2006-07-01
Project End
2017-02-28
Budget Start
2016-03-01
Budget End
2017-02-28
Support Year
9
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Rutgers University
Department
Other Basic Sciences
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
130029205
City
Newark
State
NJ
Country
United States
Zip Code
Kar, Kohitij; Duijnhouwer, Jacob; Krekelberg, Bart (2017) Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Attenuates Neuronal Adaptation. J Neurosci 37:2325-2335
Klingenhoefer, Steffen; Krekelberg, Bart (2017) Perisaccadic visual perception. J Vis 17:16
Joukes, Jeroen; Yu, Yunguo; Victor, Jonathan D et al. (2017) Recurrent Network Dynamics; a Link between Form and Motion. Front Syst Neurosci 11:12
Quiroga, Maria Del Mar; Morris, Adam P; Krekelberg, Bart (2016) Adaptation without Plasticity. Cell Rep 17:58-68
Kar, Kohitij; Krekelberg, Bart (2016) Testing the assumptions underlying fMRI adaptation using intracortical recordings in area MT. Cortex 80:21-34
Morris, Adam P; Bremmer, Frank; Krekelberg, Bart (2016) The Dorsal Visual System Predicts Future and Remembers Past Eye Position. Front Syst Neurosci 10:9
Duijnhouwer, Jacob; Krekelberg, Bart (2016) Evidence and Counterevidence in Motion Perception. Cereb Cortex 26:4602-4612
Kar, Kohitij; Krekelberg, Bart (2014) Transcranial alternating current stimulation attenuates visual motion adaptation. J Neurosci 34:7334-40
Patterson, Carlyn A; Duijnhouwer, Jacob; Wissig, Stephanie C et al. (2014) Similar adaptation effects in primary visual cortex and area MT of the macaque monkey under matched stimulus conditions. J Neurophysiol 111:1203-13
Joukes, Jeroen; Hartmann, Till S; Krekelberg, Bart (2014) Motion detection based on recurrent network dynamics. Front Syst Neurosci 8:239

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