Balancing Flexibility and Interference in Working Memory

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Buschman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Effective Capacity ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Structured Representations ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Brain

Working memory is central to cognition, flexibly holding the variety of thoughts needed for complex behavior. Yet, despite its importance, working memory has a severely limited capacity, holding only three to four items at once. In this article, I review experimental and computational evidence that the flexibility and limited capacity of working memory reflect the same underlying neural mechanism. I argue that working memory relies on interactions between high-dimensional, integrative representations in the prefrontal cortex and structured representations in the sensory cortex. Together, these interactions allow working memory to flexibly maintain arbitrary representations. However, the distributed nature of working memory comes at the cost of causing interference between items in memory, resulting in a limited capacity. Finally, I discuss several mechanisms used by the brain to reduce interference and maximize the effective capacity of working memory. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Generating and Using Transcriptomically Based Retinal Cell Atlases

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthik Shekhar ◽  
Joshua R. Sanes
Keyword(s):  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Retinal Disease ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Retinal Cell ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Vertebrate Species ◽  
Retinal Cells ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
The Brain

It has been known for over a century that the basic organization of the retina is conserved across vertebrates. It has been equally clear that retinal cells can be classified into numerous types, but only recently have methods been devised to explore this diversity in unbiased, scalable, and comprehensive ways. Advances in high-throughput single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) have played a pivotal role in this effort. In this article, we outline the experimental and computational components of scRNA-seq and review studies that have used them to generate retinal atlases of cell types in several vertebrate species. These atlases have enabled studies of retinal development, responses of retinal cells to injury, expression patterns of genes implicated in retinal disease, and the evolution of cell types. Recently, the inquiry has expanded to include the entire eye and visual centers in the brain. These studies have enhanced our understanding of retinal function and dysfunction and provided tools and insights for exploring neural diversity throughout the brain. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Aging of the Retina: Molecular and Metabolic Turbulences and Potential Interventions

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Campello ◽  
Nivedita Singh ◽  
Jayshree Advani ◽  
Anupam K. Mondal ◽  
Ximena Corso-Diaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Human Lifespan ◽  
Cellular Events ◽  
Age Related

Multifaceted and divergent manifestations across tissues and cell types have curtailed advances in deciphering the cellular events that accompany advanced age and contribute to morbidities and mortalities. Increase in human lifespan during the past century has heightened awareness of the need to prevent age-associated frailty of neuronal and sensory systems to allow a healthy and productive life. In this review, we discuss molecular and physiological attributes of aging of the retina, with a goal of understanding age-related impairment of visual function. We highlight the epigenome–metabolism nexus and proteostasis as key contributors to retinal aging and discuss lifestyle changes as potential modulators of retinal function. Finally, we deliberate promising intervention strategies for promoting healthy aging of the retina for improved vision. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals The Geometry of Information Coding in Correlated Neural Populations

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rava Azeredo da Silveira ◽  
Fred Rieke
Keyword(s):  
Neural Coding ◽  
Neural Population ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Information Coding ◽  
Population Code ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Neural Populations ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Theoretical Developments

Neurons in the brain represent information in their collective activity. The fidelity of this neural population code depends on whether and how variability in the response of one neuron is shared with other neurons. Two decades of studies have investigated the influence of these noise correlations on the properties of neural coding. We provide an overview of the theoretical developments on the topic. Using simple, qualitative, and general arguments, we discuss, categorize, and relate the various published results. We emphasize the relevance of the fine structure of noise correlation, and we present a new approach to the issue. Throughout this review, we emphasize a geometrical picture of how noise correlations impact the neural code. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Volume 44 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Best Practices for the Design of Clinical Trials Related to the Visual System

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen G. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Science Volume ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Single Patient ◽  
Vision Science

Clinical trials for conditions affecting the visual system need to not only conform to the guidelines for all clinical trials, but also accommodate the possibility of both eyes of a single patient qualifying for the trial. In this review, I present the interplay of the key components in the design of a clinical trial, along with the modifications or options that may be available for trials addressing ocular conditions. Examples drawn from published reports of the design and results of clinical trials of ocular conditions are provided to illustrate application of the design principles. Current approaches to data analysis and reporting of trials are outlined, and the oversight and regulatory procedures to protect participants in clinical trials are discussed. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Coming of Age in Science: Just Look?

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Nakayama
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Science Volume ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Common Space ◽  
Field Of Vision ◽  
The Times ◽  
Scientific Environment

With Professor Patrick Cavanagh, I started the Harvard Vision Sciences Laboratory in 1990. Blessed with the largesse of a wealthy university, we occupied a very large common space. Here, students pursued their own projects in a uniquely cooperative and exciting scientific environment. The times were just right in the emerging and expanding field of vision science. With good thesis projects under their belt, most of the students went on to successful careers. However, my own coming of age in science did not have such promising start. It only started well into my thirties when I joined the Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco. Providentially, it was there that I had the rare and unique opportunity to work closely and essentially only with peers (not students). Through these intense collaborations, I found my way as a scientist. Most of this account describes these formative years. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Reading: The Confluence of Vision and Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D. Yeatman ◽  
Alex L. White
Keyword(s):  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Control Object ◽  
Spatial Vision ◽  
Visual Features ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Artificial Stimulus ◽  
Rich History

The scientific study of reading has a rich history that spans disciplines from vision science to linguistics, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neurology, and education. The study of reading can elucidate important general mechanisms in spatial vision, attentional control, object recognition, and perceptual learning, as well as the principles of plasticity and cortical topography. However, literacy also prompts the development of specific neural circuits to process a unique and artificial stimulus. In this review, we describe the sequence of operations that transforms visual features into language, how the key neural circuits are sculpted by experience during development, and what goes awry in children for whom learning to read is a struggle. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Eyewitness Identification Is a Visual Search Task

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Wixted ◽  
Edward Vul ◽  
Laura Mickes ◽  
Brent M. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Visual Search ◽  
Eyewitness Identification ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Visual Search Task ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Identification Procedure ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
Target Template ◽  
Police Lineup

The simultaneous six-pack photo lineup is a standard eyewitness identification procedure, consisting of one police suspect plus five physically similar fillers. The photo lineup is either a target-present array (the suspect is guilty) or a target-absent array (the suspect is innocent). The eyewitness is asked to search the six photos in the array with respect to a target template stored in memory (namely, the memory of the perpetrator's face). If the witness determines that the perpetrator is in fact in the lineup (detection), then the next step is to specify the position of the perpetrator's face in the lineup (localization). The witness may also determine that the perpetrator is not present and reject the lineup. In other words, a police lineup is a detection-plus-localization visual search task. Signal detection concepts that have long guided thinking about visual search have recently had a significant impact on our understanding of police lineups. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The Gut Microbiome as a Regulator of the Neuroimmune Landscape

2022 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis W. Yu ◽  
Gulistan Agirman ◽  
Elaine Y. Hsiao
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Bidirectional Interactions ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Microbial Effects

The gut microbiome influences many host physiologies, spanning gastrointestinal function, metabolism, immune homeostasis, neuroactivity, and behavior. Many microbial effects on the host are orchestrated by bidirectional interactions between the microbiome and immune system. Imbalances in this dialogue can lead to immune dysfunction and immune-mediated conditions in distal organs including the brain. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome and dysregulated neuroimmune responses are common comorbidities of neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurological disorders, highlighting the importance of the gut microbiome–neuroimmune axis as a regulator of central nervous system homeostasis. In this review, we discuss recent evidence supporting a role for the gut microbiome in regulating the neuroimmune landscape in health and disease. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Immunology, Volume 40 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Running the Female Power Grid Across Lifespan Through Brain Estrogen Signaling

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly A. Ingraham ◽  
Candice B. Herber ◽  
William C. Krause
Keyword(s):  
Brain Regions ◽  
Estrogen Signaling ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Hormone Sensitive ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Female Power

The role of central estrogen in cognitive, metabolic, and reproductive health has long fascinated the lay public and scientists alike. In the last two decades, insight into estrogen signaling in the brain and its impact on female physiology is beginning to catch up with the vast information already established for its actions on peripheral tissues. Using newer methods to manipulate estrogen signaling in hormone-sensitive brain regions, neuroscientists are now identifying the molecular pathways and neuronal subtypes required to establish crucial sex differences in energy allocation. However, the immense cellular complexity of these hormone-sensitive brain regions makes it clear that more research is needed to fully appreciate how estrogen modulates neural circuits to regulate physiological and behavioral end points. Such insight is essential for understanding how natural or drug-induced hormone fluctuations across lifespan affect women's health. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Physiology, Volume 84 is February 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Remembering the Past to See the Future

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole C. Rust ◽  
Stephanie E. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Science Volume ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Vision Science ◽  
The Past ◽  
Future Events ◽  
The Relationship

In addition to the role that our visual system plays in determining what we are seeing right now, visual computations contribute in important ways to predicting what we will see next. While the role of memory in creating future predictions is often overlooked, efficient predictive computation requires the use of information about the past to estimate future events. In this article, we introduce a framework for understanding the relationship between memory and visual prediction and review the two classes of mechanisms that the visual system relies on to create future predictions. We also discuss the principles that define the mapping from predictive computations to predictive mechanisms and how downstream brain areas interpret the predictive signals computed by the visual system. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 7 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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