MappingSpatialVision · Linking the perceptual and neural mechanisms of human spatial perception using behavioral and ultra-high field fMRI signals
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2019-06-01 → 2021-08-31
- EU contribution
- €177,599
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Linking the perceptual and neural mechanisms of human spatial perception using behavioral and ultra-high field fMRI signals
Humans rely heavily on their sense of vision to interact with the world. Understanding how cognitive functions and clinical disorders affect the way the brain represents visual information across the visual field requires to link human perception with changes in human neuronal populations. To do so, cognitive neuroscientists possess a variety of visual mapping techniques able to link visual perception with changes in the underlying neural circuitry. Modern neuroimaging techniques, such as high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have opened the door to study the organisation of the brain and its ability to adapt its function and structure in response to a wide range of cognitive functions, as well as in patients with diverse ophthalmological and neurological disorders. Yet, the balance between brain plasticity and stability of visual processing remains intensely debated among scientists and clinicians. The controversy relates to the fact that brain functions are highly dynamic, and can yield different properties simply due to differences in experimental factors. The present project aimed to improve the way we map visual functions across the visual field, at both behavioural and neural levels, and further our understanding of the link between human perception and cortical organisation. Overall, our results show how behavioural and neuroimaging approaches can be combined to link changes in perception with changes in neural activity in both healthy and clinical populations. Our findings provide novel and vital insights regarding the mechanistic underpinnings of neural dynamics associated with cognitive functions (e.g., attention, perceptual learning) and visual disorders (e.g., retinal lesions, stroke-induced brain damage). Moreover, we show that fMRI can be used to predict recovery of conscious vision following visual training in patients with stroke-induced brain damage. To conclude, the action shows how modern neuroimaging can be used to map visual functions and link neural dynamics to their perceptual consequences in patients with ophthalmological and neurological diseases. Aside from improving our scientific understanding of the plasticity and stability of visual functions, our findings are of vital importance for the development of more principled, customised, clinical rehabilitation therapies.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The present research aims to further our understanding of the mechanisms by which our brain makes sense of the visual world. Our brain cannot represent with full fidelity the overwhelming amount of information it constantly faces. Yet, understanding our visual world seems effortless. One strategy developed by the brain is to trade off poor spatial representations in the periphery for high-resolution foveal vision. Spatial attention is another strategy the brain relies on to select and prioritize visual processing at relevant areas of the visual field without having to move our eyes. Perceptually, attention benefits performance in many visual tasks, in line with heightened spatial resolution at the attended area. Physiologically, single-neuron recordings in animals have shown that attention alters the receptive-field (RF) properties of neurons, which may account for changes in human perception. Yet, human behavior depends on large-scale neuronal population codes. Thus, understanding how attention helps us represent information across the visual field requires to link human perception with changes in human neuronal populations. Here, I will do exactly that by combining a powerful behavioral approach I developed with recent neuroimaging techniques that can assess human neuronal population RF properties. Using cutting-edge, ultra-high resolution neuroimaging methods, I will pinpoint the neural mechanisms by which attention alters spatial representations at unprecedented levels of cortical organization in the human brain, further establishing the host’s recognition as a world-leading brain research center. This interdisciplinary training will reinforce my previous research skills and provide me with state-of-the-art neuroimaging expertise. The MSCA fellowship is a unique chance to expand my skills and reintegrate the European research community, putting me on the right track to pursue an independent career with a multifaceted profile of psychologist and neuroscientist.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- KONINKLIJKE NEDERLANDSE AKADEMIE VAN WETENSCHAPPEN - KNAW · AMSTERDAMCoordinatorNetherlands
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union