scholarly journals A robust receptive field code for optic flow detection and decomposition during self-motion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Ruoyu Huang ◽  
Wiebke Nörenberg ◽  
Aristides Arrenberg
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Motion Information ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Linear Filters ◽  
Flow Detection ◽  
Self Motion

The perception of optic flow is essential for any visually guided behavior of a moving animal. To mechanistically predict behavior and understand the emergence of self-motion perception in vertebrate brains, it is essential to systematically characterize the motion receptive fields (RFs) of optic flow processing neurons. Here, we present the fine-scale RFs of thousands of motion-sensitive neurons studied in the diencephalon and the midbrain of zebrafish. We found neurons that serve as linear filters and robustly encode directional and speed information of translation-induced optic flow. These neurons are topographically arranged in pretectum according to translation direction. The unambiguous encoding of translation enables the decomposition of translational and rotational self-motion information from mixed optic flow. In behavioral experiments, we successfully demonstrated the predicted decomposition in the optokinetic and optomotor responses. Together, our study reveals the algorithm and the neural implementation for self-motion estimation in a vertebrate visual system.

scholarly journals Binocular Contributions to Optic Flow Processing in the Fly Visual System

2001 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 724-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger G. Krapp ◽  
Roland Hengstenberg ◽  
Martin Egelhaaf
Keyword(s):  
Optic Flow ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Optic Lobe ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Motion Information ◽  
Local Motion ◽  
Response Field

Integrating binocular motion information tunes wide-field direction-selective neurons in the fly optic lobe to respond preferentially to specific optic flow fields. This is shown by measuring the local preferred directions (LPDs) and local motion sensitivities (LMSs) at many positions within the receptive fields of three types of anatomically identifiable lobula plate tangential neurons: the three horizontal system (HS) neurons, the two centrifugal horizontal (CH) neurons, and three heterolateral connecting elements. The latter impart to two of the HS and to both CH neurons a sensitivity to motion from the contralateral visual field. Thus in two HS neurons and both CH neurons, the response field comprises part of the ipsi- and contralateral visual hemispheres. The distributions of LPDs within the binocular response fields of each neuron show marked similarities to the optic flow fields created by particular types of self-movements of the fly. Based on the characteristic distributions of local preferred directions and motion sensitivities within the response fields, the functional role of the respective neurons in the context of behaviorally relevant processing of visual wide-field motion is discussed.

scholarly journals Optic flow and self-motion information during real-world locomotion

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Jonathan Matthis ◽  
Karl Muller ◽  
Kathryn Bonnen ◽  
Mary Hayhoe
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Motion Information ◽  
Self Motion

scholarly journals Spike interval coding of translatory optic flow and depth from motion in the fly visual system

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kit D. Longden ◽  
Martina Wicklein ◽  
Benjamin J. Hardcastle ◽  
Stephen J. Huston ◽  
Holger G. Krapp
Keyword(s):  
Optic Flow ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Spike Burst ◽  
Cluttered Environments ◽  
Single Spike ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Spike Bursts

SummaryMany animals use the visual motion generated by travelling in a line, the translatory optic flow, to successfully navigate obstacles: near objects appear larger and to move more quickly than distant ones. Flies are experts at navigating cluttered environments, and while their visual processing of rotatory optic flow is understood in exquisite detail, how they process translatory optic flow remains a mystery. Here, we present novel cell types that have motion receptive fields matched to translation self-motion, the vertical translation (VT) cells. One of these, the VT1 cell, encodes forwards sideslip self-motion, and fires action potentials in clusters of spikes, spike bursts. We show that the spike burst coding is size and speed-tuned, and is selectively modulated by parallax motion, the relative motion experienced during translation. These properties are spatially organized, so that the cell is most excited by clutter rather than isolated objects. When the fly is presented with a simulation of flying past an elevated object, the spike burst activity is modulated by the height of the object, and the single spike rate is unaffected. When the moving object alone is experienced, the cell is weakly driven. Meanwhile, the VT2-3 cells have motion receptive fields matched to the lift axis. In conjunction with previously described horizontal cells, the VT cells have the properties required for the fly to successfully navigate clutter and encode its movements along near cardinal axes of thrust, lift and forward sideslip.

Are the preferred directions of neurons in cat extrastriate cortex related to optic flow?

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 887-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Sherk ◽  
Jong-Nam Kim ◽  
Kathleen Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Image Motion ◽  
Extrastriate Cortex ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Lower Visual Field ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Flow Directions

AbstractIt has been proposed that one area of extrastriate cortex in the cat, the lateral suprasylvian area (LS), plays an important role in visual analysis during locomotion (Rauschecker et al., 1987). Cells in LS reportedly tend to prefer directions along a trajectory originating at the center of gaze, and passing outward through the receptive-field center. Such directions coincide with the directions of image motion in an optic flow field, the pattern seen by locomoting observers when they fixate the point towards which they are heading (Gibson, 1950). We re-examined this issue for cells in LS with receptive fields in the lower visual field. Cells recorded posterior to Horsley-Clarke A2 showed a clear correlation between preferred direction and receptive-field location, but not that predicted: preferred directions were generally orthogonal to “optic flow” directions. Since these cells were all located posterior to those in studies showing a bias for “optic flow” directions, we hypothesized that there are two cell populations within LS, an anterior population that tends to prefer radial-outward directions, and a posterior population that tends to prefer directions orthogonal to radial. Data from earlier mapping experiments (Sherk & Mulligan, 1993) supported this idea.

scholarly journals Large receptive fields for optic flow detection in humans

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1731-1743 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C Burr ◽  
M Concetta Morrone ◽  
Lucia M Vaina
Keyword(s):  
Optic Flow ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Flow Detection

scholarly journals Clustering of Self-Motion Selectivity and Visual Response Properties in Macaque Area MSTd

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 2669-2683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aihua Chen ◽  
Yong Gu ◽  
Katsumasa Takahashi ◽  
Dora E. Angelaki ◽  
Gregory C. DeAngelis
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Correlation Technique ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Medial Superior Temporal ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Multisensory Representation ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Direction Preference

Neurons in the dorsal subdivision of the medial superior temporal area (MSTd) show directionally selective responses to both visual (optic flow) and vestibular stimuli that correspond to translational or rotational movements of the subject. Previous work has shown that MSTd neurons are clustered within the cortex according to their directional preferences for optic flow, suggesting that there may be a topographic mapping of self-motion vectors in MSTd. If MSTd provides a multisensory representation of self-motion information, then MSTd neurons may also be expected to show clustering according to their directional preferences for vestibular signals, but this has not been tested previously. We have examined clustering of vestibular signals by comparing the tuning of isolated single units (SUs) with the undifferentiated multiunit (MU) activity of several neighboring neurons recorded from the same microelectrode. We find that directional preferences for both translational and rotational vestibular stimuli, like those for optic flow, are clustered within area MSTd. MU activity often shows significant tuning for vestibular stimuli, although this MU selectivity is generally weaker for translation than for rotation. When directional tuning is observed in MU activity, the direction preference generally agrees closely with that of a simultaneously recorded SU. We also examined clustering of visual receptive field properties in MSTd by analyzing receptive field maps obtained using a reverse-correlation technique. We find that both the local directional preferences and overall spatial receptive field profiles are well clustered in MSTd. Overall, our findings have implications for how visual and vestibular signals regarding self-motion may be decoded from populations of MSTd neurons.

scholarly journals Early visual experience and the receptive-field organization of optic flow processing interneurons in the fly motion pathway

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATJA KARMEIER ◽  
RICO TABOR ◽  
MARTIN EGELHAAF ◽  
HOLGER G. KRAPP
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Visual Input ◽  
Complete Darkness ◽  
Field Organization ◽  
Receptive Field Organization

The distribution of local preferred directions and motion sensitivities within the receptive fields of so-called tangential neurons in the fly visual system was previously found to match optic flow fields as induced by certain self-motions. The complex receptive-field organization of the tangential neurons and the recent evidence showing that the orderly development of the fly's peripheral visual system depends on visual experience led us to investigate whether or not early visual input is required to establish the functional receptive-field properties of such tangential neurons. In electrophysiological investigations of two identified tangential neurons, it turned out that dark-hatched flies which were kept in complete darkness for 2 days develop basically the same receptive-field organization as flies which were raised under seasonal light/dark conditions and were free to move in their cages. We did not find any evidence that the development of the sophisticated receptive-field organization of tangential neurons depends on sensory experience. Instead, the input to the tangential neurons seems to be “hardwired” and the specificity of these cells to optic flow induced during self-motions of the animal may have evolved on a phylogenetical time scale.

scholarly journals Evidence for the intrinsically nonlinear nature of receptive fields in vision

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Bertalmío ◽  
Alex Gomez-Villa ◽  
Adrián Martín ◽  
Javier Vazquez-Corral ◽  
David Kane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Basis Functions ◽  
Linear Filters ◽  
Visual Neurons ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Efficient Representation ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Nonlinear Nature

Abstract The responses of visual neurons, as well as visual perception phenomena in general, are highly nonlinear functions of the visual input, while most vision models are grounded on the notion of a linear receptive field (RF). The linear RF has a number of inherent problems: it changes with the input, it presupposes a set of basis functions for the visual system, and it conflicts with recent studies on dendritic computations. Here we propose to model the RF in a nonlinear manner, introducing the intrinsically nonlinear receptive field (INRF). Apart from being more physiologically plausible and embodying the efficient representation principle, the INRF has a key property of wide-ranging implications: for several vision science phenomena where a linear RF must vary with the input in order to predict responses, the INRF can remain constant under different stimuli. We also prove that Artificial Neural Networks with INRF modules instead of linear filters have a remarkably improved performance and better emulate basic human perception. Our results suggest a change of paradigm for vision science as well as for artificial intelligence.

Sensitivity of MST neurons to optic flow stimuli. II. Mechanisms of response selectivity revealed by small-field stimuli

1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1346-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Duffy ◽  
R. H. Wurtz
Keyword(s):  
Vector Field ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Flow Fields ◽  
Single Component ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Small Field ◽  
Position Dependence

1. In these experiments we examined the receptive field mechanisms that support the optic flow field selective responses of neurons in the dorsomedial region of the medial superior temporal area (MSTd). Our experiments tested the predictions of two hypotheses of optic flow field selectivity. The direction mosaic hypothesis states that these receptive fields contain a set of planar direction-selective subfields that match the local directions of motion within optic flow fields. The vector field hypothesis states that these receptive fields are uniquely sensitive to distributed properties of planar, circular, or radial optic flow fields. 2. Experiments using large-field stimuli revealed that some neurons showed changes in optic flow field selectivity depending on the position of the stimulus in the receptive field; these are position-dependent responses. However, other neurons maintained the same optic flow field selectivities in spite of changes in stimulus position; these are position-invariant responses. We have used the position dependence or invariance of optic flow field selectivity as a way of testing the direction mosaic and vector field hypotheses. Position dependence is more consistent with the direction mosaic hypothesis, whereas position invariance is more consistent with the vector field hypothesis. 3. To test for position effects, we examined the optic flow field selectivity of small subfields within the large receptive fields of 160 MSTd neurons. First, we centered small-field optic flow stimuli of various sizes over the same position in the receptive field. Most MSTd neurons showed decreasing response amplitude with decreasing stimulus size but maintained optic flow field selectivity. 4. We then placed small-field stimuli at various positions within the large receptive field of these MSTd neurons. Position-invariant response selectivity was most prominent in single-component neurons, suggesting that they were more consistent with the vector field hypothesis. Position-dependent response selectivity was most prominent in triple-component neurons, suggesting that they were more consistent with the direction mosaic hypothesis. However, the variations in planar direction preference throughout the receptive field of these triple-component neurons were not consistent with a direction mosaic explanation of the large-field circular or radial selectivity observed. 5. Small-field position studies also demonstrated the existence of zones within the receptive field in which either direction-selective inhibitory or direction-selective excitatory responses predominated. The degree of overlap between these zones increased from nonselective to triple- to double- and finally to single-component neurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Visual performance in behaving cats after prenatal unilateral enucleation

1993 ◽  
Vol 90 (23) ◽  
pp. 11142-11146 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Bisti ◽  
C Trimarchi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Visual Performance ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Severe Impairment ◽  
Orientation Columns

Prenatal unilateral enucleation in mammals causes an extensive anatomical reorganization of visual pathways. The remaining eye innervates the entire extent of visual subcortical and cortical areas. Electrophysiological recordings have shown that the retino-geniculate connections are retinotopically organized and geniculate neurones have normal receptive field properties. In area 17 all neurons respond to stimulation of the remaining eye and retinotopy, orientation columns, and direction selectivity are maintained. The only detectable change is a reduction in receptive field size. Are these changes reflected in the visual behavior? We studied visual performance in cats unilaterally enucleated 3 weeks before birth (gestational age at enucleation, 39-42 days). We tested behaviorally the development of visual acuity and, in the adult, the extension of the visual field and the contrast sensitivity. We found no difference between prenatal monocularly enucleated cats and controls in their ability to orient to targets in different positions of the visual field or in their visual acuity (at any age). The major difference between enucleated and control animals was in contrast sensitivity:prenatal enucleated cats present a loss in sensitivity for gratings of low spatial frequency (below 0.5 cycle per degree) as well as a slight increase in sensitivity at middle frequencies. We conclude that prenatal unilateral enucleation causes a selective change in the spatial performance of the remaining eye. We suggest that this change is the result of a reduction in the number of neurones with large receptive fields, possibly due to a severe impairment of the Y system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document