scholarly journals A comparison of visuomotor cue integration strategies for object placement and prehension

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAL S. GREENWALD ◽  
DAVID C. KNILL
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Cue Integration ◽  
Movement Initiation ◽  
Initial Stimulus ◽  
Integration Strategies

AbstractVisual cue integration strategies are known to depend on cue reliability and how rapidly the visual system processes incoming information. We investigated whether these strategies also depend on differences in the information demands for different natural tasks. Using two common goal-oriented tasks, prehension and object placement, we determined whether monocular and binocular information influence estimates of three-dimensional (3D) orientation differently depending on task demands. Both tasks rely on accurate 3D orientation estimates, but 3D position is potentially more important for grasping. Subjects placed an object on or picked up a disc in a virtual environment. On some trials, the monocular cues (aspect ratio and texture compression) and binocular cues (e.g., binocular disparity) suggested slightly different 3D orientations for the disc; these conflicts either were present upon initial stimulus presentation or were introduced after movement initiation, which allowed us to quantify how information from the cues accumulated over time. We analyzed the time-varying orientations of subjects’ fingers in the grasping task and those of the object in the object placement task to quantify how different visual cues influenced motor control. In the first experiment, different subjects performed each task, and those performing the grasping task relied on binocular information more when orienting their hands than those performing the object placement task. When subjects in the second experiment performed both tasks in interleaved sessions, binocular cues were still more influential during grasping than object placement, and the different cue integration strategies observed for each task in isolation were maintained. In both experiments, the temporal analyses showed that subjects processed binocular information faster than monocular information, but task demands did not affect the time course of cue processing. How one uses visual cues for motor control depends on the task being performed, although how quickly the information is processed appears to be task invariant.

Visuomotor Sensitivity to Visual Information About Surface Orientation

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 1350-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Knill ◽  
Daniel Kersten
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Surface Orientation ◽  
Movement Initiation ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Surface Slant ◽  
Weak Evidence ◽  
Perceptual Systems

We measured human visuomotor sensitivity to visual information about three-dimensional surface orientation by analyzing movements made to place an object on a slanted surface. We applied linear discriminant analysis to the kinematics of subjects' movements to surfaces with differing slants (angle away form the fronto-parallel) to derive visuomotor d′s for discriminating surfaces differing in slant by 5°. Subjects' visuomotor sensitivity to information about surface orientation was very high, with discrimination “thresholds” ranging from 2 to 3 degrees. In a first experiment, we found that subjects performed only slightly better using binocular cues alone than monocular texture cues and that they showed only weak evidence for combining the cues when both were available, suggesting that monocular cues can be just as effective in guiding motor behavior in depth as binocular cues. In a second experiment, we measured subjects' perceptual discrimination and visuomotor thresholds in equivalent stimulus conditions to decompose visuomotor sensitivity into perceptual and motor components. Subjects' visuomotor thresholds were found to be slightly greater than their perceptual thresholds for a range of memory delays, from 1 to 3 s. The data were consistent with a model in which perceptual noise increases with increasing delay between stimulus presentation and movement initiation, but motor noise remains constant. This result suggests that visuomotor and perceptual systems rely on the same visual estimates of surface slant for memory delays ranging from 1 to 3 s.

scholarly journals Time-dependent competition between habitual and goal-directed response preparation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M Hardwick ◽  
Alexander D Forrence ◽  
John W Krakauer ◽  
Adrian M Haith
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Response Preparation ◽  
Movement Initiation ◽  
Control Behavior ◽  
Association Task ◽  
Habitual Behavior ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Habitual Responses

AbstractConverging evidence indicates that separate goal-directed and habitual systems compete to control behavior1. However, it has proven difficult to reliably induce habitual behavior in human participants2–4. We reasoned that habits may be present in the form of habitually prepared responses, but are overridden by goal-directed processes, preventing their overt expression. Here we show that latent habits can be unmasked by limiting the time participants have to respond to a stimulus. Participants trained for 4 days on a visuomotor association task. By continuously varying the time allowed to prepare responses, we found that the probability of expressing a learned habit followed a stereotyped time course, peaking 300-600ms after stimulus presentation. This time course was captured by a computational model of response preparation in which habitual responses are automatically prepared at short latency, but are replaced by goal-directed responses at longer latency. A more extensive period of practice (20 days) led to increased habit expression by reducing the average time of movement initiation. These findings refine our understanding of habits, and show that practice can influence habitual behavior in distinct ways: by promoting habit formation, and by modulating the likelihood of habit expression.

Time Series Analysis of Transmesothelial Invasion by Endometrial Stromal and Epithelial Cells Using Three-dimensional Confocal Microscopy

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 580-581
Author(s):  
CA Witz ◽  
S Cho ◽  
VE Centonze ◽  
IA Montoya-Rodriguez ◽  
RS Schenken
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Stromal Cells ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Collagen Iv ◽  
Mesothelial Cells ◽  
Endometrial Stromal Cells ◽  
Human Collagen ◽  
Endometrial Epithelial Cells

Using human peritoneal explants, we have previously demonstrated that endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) attach to intact mesothelium. Attachment occurs within one hour and mesothelial invasion occurs within 18 hours (Figure 1). We have also demonstrated that, in vivo, the mesothelium overlies a continuous layer of collagen IV (Col IV).More recently we have used CLSM, to study the mechanism and time course of ESC and EEC attachment and invasion through mesothelial monolayers. in these studies, CellTracker® dyes were used to label cells. Mesothelial cells were labeled with chloromethylbenzoylaminotetramethylrhodamine (CellTracker Orange). Mesothelial cells were then plated on human collagen IV coated, laser etched coverslips. Mesothelial cells were cultured to subconfluence. ESCs and EECs, labeled with chloromethylfluorscein diacetate (CellTracker Green) were plated on the mesothelial monolayers. Cultures were examined at 1, 6, 12 and 24 hours with simultaneous differential interference contrast and CLSM.

scholarly journals Cerebellar Dysfunction in Adults with Prader Willi Syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3320
Author(s):  
Laura Blanco-Hinojo ◽  
Laia Casamitjana ◽  
Jesus Pujol ◽  
Gerard Martínez-Vilavella ◽  
Susanna Esteba-Castillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Prader Willi Syndrome ◽  
Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Correlation Pattern ◽  
Motor Processing

Severe hypotonia during infancy is a hallmark feature of Prader Willi syndrome (PWS). Despite its transient expression, moto development is delayed and deficiencies in motor coordination are present at older ages, with no clear pathophysiological mechanism yet identified. The diverse motor coordination symptoms present in adult PWS patients could be, in part, the result of a common alteration(s) in basic motor control systems. We aimed to examine the motor system in PWS using functional MRI (fMRI) during motor challenge. Twenty-three adults with PWS and 22 matched healthy subjects participated in the study. fMRI testing involved three hand motor tasks of different complexity. Additional behavioral measurements of motor function were obtained by evaluating hand grip strength, functional mobility, and balance. Whole brain activation maps were compared between groups and correlated with behavioral measurements. Performance of the motor tasks in PWS engaged the neural elements typically involved in motor processing. While our data showed no group differences in the simplest task, increasing task demands evoked significantly weaker activation in patients in the cerebellum. Significant interaction between group and correlation pattern with measures of motor function were also observed. Our study provides novel insights into the neural substrates of motor control in PWS by demonstrating reduced cerebellar activation during movement coordination.

Area MT Neurons Respond to Visual Motion Distant From Their Receptive Fields

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 4156-4167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Zaksas ◽  
Tatiana Pasternak
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Area Mt ◽  
Mt Neurons ◽  
Stimulus Offset

Neurons in cortical area MT have localized receptive fields (RF) representing the contralateral hemifield and play an important role in processing visual motion. We recorded the activity of these neurons during a behavioral task in which two monkeys were required to discriminate and remember visual motion presented in the ipsilateral hemifield. During the task, the monkeys viewed two stimuli, sample and test, separated by a brief delay and reported whether they contained motion in the same or in opposite directions. Fifty to 70% of MT neurons were activated by the motion stimuli presented in the ipsilateral hemifield at locations far removed from their classical receptive fields. These responses were in the form of excitation or suppression and were delayed relative to conventional MT responses. Both excitatory and suppressive responses were direction selective, but the nature and the time course of their directionality differed from the conventional excitatory responses recorded with stimuli in the RF. Direction selectivity of the excitatory remote response was transient and early, whereas the suppressive response developed later and persisted after stimulus offset. The presence or absence of these unusual responses on error trials, as well as their magnitude, was affected by the behavioral significance of stimuli used in the task. We hypothesize that these responses represent top-down signals from brain region(s) accessing information about stimuli in the entire visual field and about the behavioral state of the animal. The recruitment of neurons in the opposite hemisphere during processing of behaviorally relevant visual signals reveals a mechanism by which sensory processing can be affected by cognitive task demands.

scholarly journals The atypical cation-conduction and gating properties of ELIC underscore the marked functional versatility of the pentameric ligand-gated ion-channel fold

2015 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Gonzalez-Gutierrez ◽  
Claudio Grosman
Keyword(s):  
Quaternary Ammonium ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Mouse Muscle ◽  
Current Decay ◽  
Quaternary Ammonium Cations ◽  
Inward Currents ◽  
Time Courses ◽  
Extracellular Side ◽  
Invariant Functional

The superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) is unique among ionotropic receptors in that the same overall structure has evolved to generate multiple members with different combinations of agonist specificities and permeant-ion charge selectivities. However, aside from these differences, pLGICs have been typically regarded as having several invariant functional properties. These include pore blockade by extracellular quaternary-ammonium cations in the micromolar-to-millimolar concentration range (in the case of the cation-selective members), and a gain-of-function phenotype, which manifests as a slower deactivation time course, as a result of mutations that reduce the hydrophobicity of the transmembrane pore lining. Here, we tested this notion on three distantly related cation-selective members of the pLGIC superfamily: the mouse muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), and the bacterial GLIC and ELIC channels. Remarkably, we found that, whereas low millimolar concentrations of TMA+ and TEA+ block the nAChR and GLIC, neither of these two quaternary-ammonium cations blocks ELIC at such concentrations; instead, both carry measurable inward currents when present as the only cations on the extracellular side. Also, we found that, whereas lidocaine binding speeds up the current-decay time courses of the nAChR and GLIC in the presence of saturating concentrations of agonists, the binding of lidocaine to ELIC slows this time course down. Furthermore, whereas mutations that reduce the hydrophobicity of the side chains at position 9′ of the M2 α-helices greatly slowed the deactivation time course of the nAChR and GLIC, these mutations had little effect—or even sped up deactivation—when engineered in ELIC. Our data indicate that caution should be exercised when generalizing results obtained with ELIC to the rest of the pLGICs, but more intriguingly, they hint at the possibility that ELIC is a representative of a novel branch of the superfamily with markedly divergent pore properties despite a well-conserved three-dimensional architecture.

Static and dynamic postural control in long-term microgravity: evidence of a dual adaptation

2001 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Baroni ◽  
Alessandra Pedrocchi ◽  
Giancarlo Ferrigno ◽  
Jean Massion ◽  
Antonio Pedotti
Keyword(s):  
Postural Control ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Movement Analysis ◽  
Trunk Flexion ◽  
Dynamic Movement ◽  
Static Body

The adaptation of dynamic movement-posture coordination during forward trunk bending was investigated in long-term weightlessness. Three-dimensional movement analysis was carried out in two astronauts during a 4-mo microgravity exposure. The principal component analysis was applied to joint-angle kinematics for the assessment of angular synergies. The anteroposterior center of mass (CM) displacement accompanying trunk flexion was also quantified. The results reveal that subjects kept typically terrestrial strategies of movement-posture coordination. The temporary disruption of joint-angular synergies observed at subjects' first in-flight session was promptly recovered when repetitive sessions in flight were analyzed. The CM anteroposterior shift was consistently <3–4 cm, suggesting that subjects could dynamically control the CM position throughout the whole flight. This is in contrast to the observed profound microgravity-induced disruption of the quasi-static body orientation and initial CM positioning. Although this study was based on only two subjects, evidence is provided that static and dynamic postural control might be under two separate mechanisms, adapting with their specific time course to the constraints of microgravity.

Modulation of medial temporal lobe activity in epilepsy patients with hippocampal sclerosis during verbal working memory

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
PABLO CAMPO ◽  
FERNANDO MAESTÚ ◽  
IRENE GARCÍA-MORALES ◽  
ANTONIO GIL-NAGEL ◽  
BRYAN STRANGE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Hippocampal Sclerosis ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies

AbstractIt has been traditionally assumed that medial temporal lobe (MTL) is not required for working memory (WM). However, animal lesion and electrophysiological studies and human neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have provided increasing evidences of a critical involvement of MTL in WM. Based on previous findings, the central aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the MTL to verbal WM encoding. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to compare the patterns of MTL activation of 9 epilepsy patients suffering from left hippocampal sclerosis with those of 10 healthy matched controls while they performed a verbal WM task. MEG recordings allow detailed tracking of the time course of MTL activation. We observed impaired WM performance associated with changes in the dynamics of MTL activity in epilepsy patients. Specifically, whereas patients showed decreased activity in damaged MTL, activity in the contralateral MTL was enhanced, an effect that became significant in the 600- to 700-ms interval after stimulus presentation. These findings strongly support the crucial contribution of MTL to verbal WM encoding and provide compelling evidence for the proposal that MTL contributes to both episodic memory and WM. Whether this pattern is signaling reorganization or a normal use of a damaged structure is discussed. (JINS, 2009, 15, 536–546.)

scholarly journals Can't tell the caterpillars from the trees: countershading enhances survival in a woodland

2008 ◽  
Vol 275 (1651) ◽  
pp. 2539-2545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah M Rowland ◽  
Innes C Cuthill ◽  
Ian F Harvey ◽  
Michael P Speed ◽  
Graeme D Ruxton
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Shape From Shading ◽  
The Body ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Background Matching ◽  
Lepidopteran Larvae ◽  
Beech Tree

Perception of the body's outline and three-dimensional shape arises from visual cues such as shading, contour, perspective and texture. When a uniformly coloured prey animal is illuminated from above by sunlight, a shadow may be cast on the body, generating a brightness contrast between the dorsal and ventral surfaces. For animals such as caterpillars, which live among flat leaves, a difference in reflectance over the body surface may degrade the degree of background matching and provide cues to shape from shading. This may make otherwise cryptic prey more conspicuous to visually hunting predators. Cryptically coloured prey are expected to match their substrate in colour, pattern and texture (though disruptive patterning is an exception), but they may also abolish self-shadowing and therefore either reduce shape cues or maintain their degree of background matching through countershading: a gradation of pigment on the body of an animal so that the surface closest to illumination is darker. In this study, we report the results from a series of field experiments where artificial prey resembling lepidopteran larvae were presented on the upper surfaces of beech tree branches so that they could be viewed by free-living birds. We demonstrate that countershading is superior to uniform coloration in terms of reducing attack by free-living predators. This result persisted even when we fixed prey to the underside of branches, simulating the resting position of many tree-living caterpillars. Our experiments provide the first demonstration, in an ecologically valid visual context, that shadowing on bodies (such as lepidopteran larvae) provides cues that visually hunting predators use to detect potential prey species, and that countershading counterbalances shadowing to enhance cryptic protection.

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