During normal viewing, the projection of the visual scene on the retina is never stationary. Even during the brief periods of visual fixation, small eye movements combine with movements of the head and the body to keep the retinal image in motion. Fixational instability may be an important component of how information about a visual scene is acquired and represented in the brain. By affecting the temporal structure of neuronal responses, it may contribute to the encoding of visual information in a way that goes beyond simply refreshing neuronal responses to prevent the fading of unchanging stimuli. Modeling studies that simulated neuronal responses during oculomotor activity suggest specific mechanisms by which this may occur. This proposal combines visual psychophysics and neuronal modeling to examine the influence of fixational eye movements on the identification of stimuli presented for periods comparable to the brief durations of visual fixation. Psychophysical experiments with human subjects will compare identification performances in the presence and absence of retinal image motion and correlate the fine structure of eye movements to visual identification. Experiments will rely both on a traditional technique of retinal stabilization as well as on a new system of gaze-contingent display that will allow selective elimination of eye movements during the periods of fixation following saccades. Neuronal models will simulate the responses of neurons in the retina, LGN and V1. For every experimental trial, a simulation will replicate neuronal activity during the sequence of eye movements performed by the subject. Subject performance and the information about the stimulus transmitted by neuronal firing will be compared on a trial-by-trial basis. A number of visual disorders manifest abnormal fixational eye movements. In addition to advance our basic understanding of visual perception, a comprehension of the functional implications of fixational instability may lead to treatment of the visual impairments commonly associated with such conditions. ? ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03EY015732-03
Application #
7112265
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZEY1-VSN (01))
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
2004-09-01
Project End
2008-08-31
Budget Start
2006-09-01
Budget End
2008-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$157,705
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston University
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
049435266
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02215
Poletti, Martina; Rucci, Michele (2016) A compact field guide to the study of microsaccades: Challenges and functions. Vision Res 118:83-97
Poletti, Martina; Listorti, Chiara; Rucci, Michele (2010) Stability of the visual world during eye drift. J Neurosci 30:11143-50
Poletti, Martina; Rucci, Michele (2008) Oculomotor synchronization of visual responses in modeled populations of retinal ganglion cells. J Vis 8:4.1-15
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Desbordes, Gaelle; Rucci, Michele (2007) A model of the dynamics of retinal activity during natural visual fixation. Vis Neurosci 24:217-30
Casile, Antonino; Rucci, Michele (2006) A theoretical analysis of the influence of fixational instability on the development of thalamocortical connectivity. Neural Comput 18:569-90
Rucci, Michele; Casile, Antonino (2005) Fixational instability and natural image statistics: implications for early visual representations. Network 16:121-38