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Xia R, Chen X, Engel TA, Moore T. Common and distinct neural mechanisms of attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:554-567. [PMID: 38388258 PMCID: PMC11153008 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Despite a constant deluge of sensory stimulation, only a fraction of it is used to guide behavior. This selective processing is generally referred to as attention, and much research has focused on the neural mechanisms controlling it. Recently, research has broadened to include more ways by which different species selectively process sensory information, whether due to the sensory input itself or to different behavioral and brain states. This work has produced a complex and disjointed body of evidence across different species and forms of attention. However, it has also provided opportunities to better understand the breadth of attentional mechanisms. Here, we summarize the evidence that suggests that different forms of selective processing are supported by mechanisms both common and distinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruobing Xia
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xiaomo Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Tatiana A Engel
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Veale R, Takahashi M. Pathways for Naturalistic Looking Behavior in Primate II. Superior Colliculus Integrates Parallel Top-down and Bottom-up Inputs. Neuroscience 2024; 545:86-110. [PMID: 38484836 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Volitional signals for gaze control are provided by multiple parallel pathways converging on the midbrain superior colliculus (SC), whose deeper layers output to the brainstem gaze circuits. In the first of two papers (Takahashi and Veale, 2023), we described the properties of gaze behavior of several species under both laboratory and natural conditions, as well as the current understanding of the brainstem and spinal cord circuits implementing gaze control in primate. In this paper, we review the parallel pathways by which sensory and task information reaches SC and how these sensory and task signals interact within SC's multilayered structure. This includes both bottom-up (world statistics) signals mediated by sensory cortex, association cortex, and subcortical structures, as well as top-down (goal and task) influences which arrive via either direct excitatory pathways from cerebral cortex, or via indirect basal ganglia relays resulting in inhibition or dis-inhibition as appropriate for alternative behaviors. Models of attention such as saliency maps serve as convenient frameworks to organize our understanding of both the separate computations of each neural pathway, as well as the interaction between the multiple parallel pathways influencing gaze. While the spatial interactions between gaze's neural pathways are relatively well understood, the temporal interactions between and within pathways will be an important area of future study, requiring both improved technical methods for measurement and improvement of our understanding of how temporal dynamics results in the observed spatiotemporal allocation of gaze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Veale
- Department of Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan
| | - Mayu Takahashi
- Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
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Kreyenmeier P, Bhuiyan I, Gian M, Chow HM, Spering M. Smooth pursuit inhibition reveals audiovisual enhancement of fast movement control. J Vis 2024; 24:3. [PMID: 38558158 PMCID: PMC10996987 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.4.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The sudden onset of a visual object or event elicits an inhibition of eye movements at latencies approaching the minimum delay of visuomotor conductance in the brain. Typically, information presented via multiple sensory modalities, such as sound and vision, evokes stronger and more robust responses than unisensory information. Whether and how multisensory information affects ultra-short latency oculomotor inhibition is unknown. In two experiments, we investigate smooth pursuit and saccadic inhibition in response to multisensory distractors. Observers tracked a horizontally moving dot and were interrupted by an unpredictable visual, auditory, or audiovisual distractor. Distractors elicited a transient inhibition of pursuit eye velocity and catch-up saccade rate within ∼100 ms of their onset. Audiovisual distractors evoked stronger oculomotor inhibition than visual- or auditory-only distractors, indicating multisensory response enhancement. Multisensory response enhancement magnitudes were equal to the linear sum of responses to component stimuli. These results demonstrate that multisensory information affects eye movements even at ultra-short latencies, establishing a lower time boundary for multisensory-guided behavior. We conclude that oculomotor circuits must have privileged access to sensory information from multiple modalities, presumably via a fast, subcortical pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Kreyenmeier
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Ishmam Bhuiyan
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mathew Gian
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Hiu Mei Chow
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Psychology, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Miriam Spering
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, BC, Vancouver, Canada
- Institute for Computing, Information, and Cognitive Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Lin J, Xu T, Yang X, Yang Q, Zhu Y, Wan M, Xiao X, Zhang S, Ouyang Z, Fan X, Sun W, Yang F, Yuan L, Bei Y, Wang J, Guo J, Tang B, Shen L, Jiao B. A detection model of cognitive impairment via the integrated gait and eye movement analysis from a large Chinese community cohort. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:1089-1101. [PMID: 37876113 PMCID: PMC10916936 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Whether the integration of eye-tracking, gait, and corresponding dual-task analysis can distinguish cognitive impairment (CI) patients from controls remains unclear. METHODS One thousand four hundred eighty-one participants, including 724 CI and 757 controls, were enrolled in this study. Eye movement and gait, combined with dual-task patterns, were measured. The LightGBM machine learning models were constructed. RESULTS A total of 105 gait and eye-tracking features were extracted. Forty-six parameters, including 32 gait and 14 eye-tracking features, showed significant differences between two groups (P < 0.05). Of these, the Gait_3Back-TurnTime and Dual-task cost-TurnTime patterns were significantly correlated with plasma phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181) level. A model based on dual-task gait, dual-task smooth pursuit, prosaccade, and anti-saccade achieved the best area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of 0.987 for CI detection, while combined with p-tau181, the model discriminated mild cognitive impairment from controls with an AUC of 0.824. DISCUSSION Combining dual-task gait and dual-task eye-tracking analysis is feasible for the detection of CI. HIGHLIGHTS This is the first study to report the efficiency of integrated parameters of dual-task gait and eye-tracking for cognitive impairment (CI) detection in a large cohort. We identified 46 gait and eye-tracking features associated with CI, and two were correlated to plasma phosphorylated tau 181. We constructed the model based on dual-task gait, smooth pursuit, prosaccade, and anti-saccade, achieving the best area under the curve of 0.987 for CI detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Lin
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of BiologyEmory UniversityAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Tianyan Xu
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Xuan Yang
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Qijie Yang
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Yuan Zhu
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Meidan Wan
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Xuewen Xiao
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric DisordersXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province in Cognitive Impairment DisordersCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Sizhe Zhang
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Ziyu Ouyang
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Xiangmin Fan
- Institute of SoftwareChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Wei Sun
- Institute of SoftwareChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Fan Yang
- Institute of SoftwareChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- School of Computer Science and TechnologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Li Yuan
- Department of NeurologyLiuyang Jili HospitalChangshaChina
| | - Yuzhang Bei
- Department of NeurologyLiuyang Jili HospitalChangshaChina
| | - Junling Wang
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric DisordersXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province in Cognitive Impairment DisordersCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Jifeng Guo
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric DisordersXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province in Cognitive Impairment DisordersCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Beisha Tang
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric DisordersXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province in Cognitive Impairment DisordersCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Lu Shen
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric DisordersXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province in Cognitive Impairment DisordersCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
| | - Bin Jiao
- Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic DiseasesXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Department of NeurologyXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric DisordersXiangya HospitalCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
- Engineering Research Center of Hunan Province in Cognitive Impairment DisordersCentral South UniversityChangshaChina
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de Malmazet D, Tripodi M. Collicular circuits supporting the perceptual, motor and cognitive demands of ethological environments. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2023; 82:102773. [PMID: 37619424 PMCID: PMC10765087 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Animals evolve to survive in their environment. Accordingly, a reasonable hypothesis is that brain evolution prioritises the processing of useful sensory information over complete representation of the surroundings. The superior colliculus or tectum is a brain area that processes the animal's surroundings and directs movements in space. Here, we review recent studies on the role of the superior colliculus to assess the validity of this "utility hypothesis". We discuss how the response properties of collicular neurons vary across anatomical regions to capture ethologically relevant stimuli at a given portion of the sensory field. Next, we focus on the recent advances dissecting the role of defined types of sensory and motor neurons of the colliculus in prey capture. Finally, we discuss the recent literature describing how this ancient structure, with neural circuits over 500 million years old, implements the necessary degree of cognitive control for flexible sensorimotor transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marco Tripodi
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK. https://twitter.com/martripodi
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Dopamine modulates visual threat processing in the superior colliculus via D2 receptors. iScience 2022; 25:104388. [PMID: 35633939 PMCID: PMC9136671 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Innate defensive responses, unlearned behaviors improving individuals’ chances of survival, have been found to involve the dopamine (DA) system. In the superior colliculus (SC), known for its role in defensive behaviors to visual threats, neurons expressing dopaminergic receptors of type 1 (Drd1+) and of type 2 (Drd2+) have been identified. We hypothesized that SC neurons expressing dopaminergic receptors may play a role in promoting innate defensive responses. Optogenetic activation of SC Drd2+ neurons, but not Drd1+ neurons, triggered defensive behaviors. Chemogenetic inhibition of SC Drd2+ neurons decreased looming-induced defensive behaviors, as well as pretreatment with the pharmacological Drd2+ agonist quinpirole, suggesting an essential role of Drd2 receptors in the regulation of innate defensive behavior. Input and output viral tracing revealed SC Drd2+ neurons mainly receive moderate inputs from the locus coeruleus (LC). Our results suggest a sophisticated regulatory role of DA and its receptor system in innate defensive behavior. Optogenetic activation of SC Drd2 + neurons, but not Drd1 + , induces defensive behaviors Repeated activation of SC Drd2 + provokes aversive memory and depression-like behavior Chemogenetic and pharmacological inhibition of SC Drd2 + impaired defensive behaviors Monosynaptic tracing revealed SC Drd2 + neurons mainly receive TH + projections from LC
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Hafed ZM, Yoshida M, Tian X, Buonocore A, Malevich T. Dissociable Cortical and Subcortical Mechanisms for Mediating the Influences of Visual Cues on Microsaccadic Eye Movements. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:638429. [PMID: 33776656 PMCID: PMC7991613 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.638429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual selection in primates is intricately linked to eye movements, which are generated by a network of cortical and subcortical neural circuits. When visual selection is performed covertly, without foveating eye movements toward the selected targets, a class of fixational eye movements, called microsaccades, is still involved. Microsaccades are small saccades that occur when maintaining precise gaze fixation on a stationary point, and they exhibit robust modulations in peripheral cueing paradigms used to investigate covert visual selection mechanisms. These modulations consist of changes in both microsaccade directions and frequencies after cue onsets. Over the past two decades, the properties and functional implications of these modulations have been heavily studied, revealing a potentially important role for microsaccades in mediating covert visual selection effects. However, the neural mechanisms underlying cueing effects on microsaccades are only beginning to be investigated. Here we review the available causal manipulation evidence for these effects' cortical and subcortical substrates. In the superior colliculus (SC), activity representing peripheral visual cues strongly influences microsaccade direction, but not frequency, modulations. In the cortical frontal eye fields (FEF), activity only compensates for early reflexive effects of cues on microsaccades. Using evidence from behavior, theoretical modeling, and preliminary lesion data from the primary visual cortex and microstimulation data from the lower brainstem, we argue that the early reflexive microsaccade effects arise subcortically, downstream of the SC. Overall, studying cueing effects on microsaccades in primates represents an important opportunity to link perception, cognition, and action through unaddressed cortical-subcortical neural interactions. These interactions are also likely relevant in other sensory and motor modalities during other active behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziad M. Hafed
- Physiology of Active Vision Laboratory, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Masatoshi Yoshida
- Center for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Xiaoguang Tian
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Antimo Buonocore
- Physiology of Active Vision Laboratory, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tatiana Malevich
- Physiology of Active Vision Laboratory, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Graduate School of Neural and Behavioural Sciences, International Max-Planck Research School, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
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Wang C, Lian R, Dong X, Mi Y, Wu S. A Neural Network Model With Gap Junction for Topological Detection. Front Comput Neurosci 2020; 14:571982. [PMID: 33178003 PMCID: PMC7591819 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2020.571982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual information processing in the brain goes from global to local. A large volume of experimental studies has suggested that among global features, the brain perceives the topological information of an image first. Here, we propose a neural network model to elucidate the underlying computational mechanism. The model consists of two parts. The first part is a neural network in which neurons are coupled through gap junctions, mimicking the neural circuit formed by alpha ganglion cells in the retina. Gap junction plays a key role in the model, which, on one hand, facilitates the synchronized firing of a neuron group covering a connected region of an image, and on the other hand, staggers the firing moments of different neuron groups covering disconnected regions of the image. These two properties endow the network with the capacity of detecting the connectivity and closure of images. The second part of the model is a read-out neuron, which reads out the topological information that has been converted into the number of synchronized firings in the retina network. Our model provides a simple yet effective mechanism for the neural system to detect the topological information of images in ultra-speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoming Wang
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China.,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei, China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Risheng Lian
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China
| | - Xingsi Dong
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanyuan Mi
- Center for Neurointelligence, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Si Wu
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Academy for Advanced Interdisceplinary Studies, Beijing, China.,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei, China
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Khademi F, Chen CY, Hafed ZM. Visual feature tuning of superior colliculus neural reafferent responses after fixational microsaccades. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:2136-2153. [PMID: 32347160 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00077.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The primate superior colliculus (SC) is causally involved in microsaccade generation. Moreover, visually responsive SC neurons across this structure's topographic map, even at peripheral eccentricities much larger than the tiny microsaccade amplitudes, exhibit significant modulations of evoked response sensitivity when stimuli appear perimicrosaccadically. However, during natural viewing, visual stimuli are normally stably present in the environment and are only shifted on the retina by eye movements. Here we investigated this scenario for the case of microsaccades, asking whether and how SC neurons respond to microsaccade-induced image jitter. We recorded neural activity from two male rhesus macaque monkeys. Within the response field (RF) of a neuron, there was a stable stimulus consisting of a grating of one of three possible spatial frequencies. The grating was stable on the display, but microsaccades periodically jittered the retinotopic RF location over it. We observed clear short-latency visual reafferent responses after microsaccades. These responses were weaker, but earlier (relative to new fixation onset after microsaccade end), than responses to sudden stimulus onsets without microsaccades. The reafferent responses clearly depended on microsaccade amplitude as well as microsaccade direction relative to grating orientation. Our results indicate that one way for microsaccades to influence vision is through modulating how the spatio-temporal landscape of SC visual neural activity represents stable stimuli in the environment. Such representation depends on the specific pattern of temporal luminance modulations expected from the relative relationship between eye movement vector (size and direction) on one hand and spatial visual pattern layout on the other.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Despite being diminutive, microsaccades still jitter retinal images. We investigated how such jitter affects superior colliculus (SC) activity. We found that SC neurons exhibit short-latency visual reafferent bursts after microsaccades. These bursts reflect not only the spatial luminance profiles of visual patterns but also how such profiles are shifted by eye movement size and direction. These results indicate that the SC continuously represents visual patterns, even as they are jittered by the smallest possible saccades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Khademi
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tuebingen University, Tuebingen, Germany.,Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tuebingen University, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Chih-Yang Chen
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tuebingen University, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Ziad M Hafed
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tuebingen University, Tuebingen, Germany.,Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tuebingen University, Tuebingen, Germany
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