scholarly journals Development of visual motion integration involves coordination of multiple cortical stages

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augusto A Lempel ◽  
Kristina J Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
Network Nodes ◽  
Hierarchical Processing ◽  
Motion Integration ◽  
Visual Areas

A central feature of cortical function is hierarchical processing of information. Little is currently known about how cortical processing cascades develop. Here, we investigate the joint development of two nodes of the ferret’s visual motion pathway, primary visual cortex (V1), and higher-level area PSS. In adult animals, motion processing transitions from local to global computations between these areas. We now show that PSS global motion signals emerge a week after the development of V1 and PSS direction selectivity. Crucially, V1 responses to more complex motion stimuli change in parallel, in a manner consistent with supporting increased PSS motion integration. At the same time, these V1 responses depend on feedback from PSS. Our findings suggest that development does not just proceed in parallel in different visual areas, it is coordinated across network nodes. This has important implications for understanding how visual experience and developmental disorders can influence the developing visual system.

scholarly journals Neural selectivity for visual motion in macaque area V3A

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nardin Nakhla ◽  
Yavar Korkian ◽  
Matthew R. Krause ◽  
Christopher C. Pack
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Motion Direction

AbstractThe processing of visual motion is carried out by dedicated pathways in the primate brain. These pathways originate with populations of direction-selective neurons in the primary visual cortex, which project to dorsal structures like the middle temporal (MT) and medial superior temporal (MST) areas. Anatomical and imaging studies have suggested that area V3A might also be specialized for motion processing, but there have been very few studies of single-neuron direction selectivity in this area. We have therefore performed electrophysiological recordings from V3A neurons in two macaque monkeys (one male and one female) and measured responses to a large battery of motion stimuli that includes translation motion, as well as more complex optic flow patterns. For comparison, we simultaneously recorded the responses of MT neurons to the same stimuli. Surprisingly, we find that overall levels of direction selectivity are similar in V3A and MT and moreover that the population of V3A neurons exhibits somewhat greater selectivity for optic flow patterns. These results suggest that V3A should be considered as part of the motion processing machinery of the visual cortex, in both human and non-human primates.Significance statementAlthough area V3A is frequently the target of anatomy and imaging studies, little is known about its functional role in processing visual stimuli. Its contribution to motion processing has been particularly unclear, with different studies yielding different conclusions. We report a detailed study of direction selectivity in V3A. Our results show that single V3A neurons are, on average, as capable of representing motion direction as are neurons in well-known structures like MT. Moreover, we identify a possible specialization for V3A neurons in representing complex optic flow, which has previously been thought to emerge in higher-order brain regions. Thus it appears that V3A is well-suited to a functional role in motion processing.

Relation of cortical areas MT and MST to pursuit eye movements. I. Localization and visual properties of neurons

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 580-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Komatsu ◽  
R. H. Wurtz
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Visual Properties

1. Among the multiple extrastriate visual areas in monkey cerebral cortex, several areas within the superior temporal sulcus (STS) are selectively related to visual motion processing. In this series of experiments we have attempted to relate this visual motion processing at a neuronal level to a behavior that is dependent on such processing, the generation of smooth-pursuit eye movements. 2. We studied two visual areas within the STS, the middle temporal area (MT) and the medial superior temporal area (MST). For the purposes of this study, MT and MST were defined functionally as those areas within the STS having a high proportion of directionally selective neurons. MST was distinguished from MT by using the established relationship of receptive-field size to eccentricity, with MST having larger receptive fields than MT. 3. A subset of these visually responsive cells within the STS were identified as pursuit cells--those cells that discharge during smooth pursuit of a small target in an otherwise dark room. Pursuit cells were found only in localized regions--in the foveal region of MT (MTf), in a dorsal-medial area of MST on the anterior bank of the STS (MSTd), and in a lateral-anterior area of MST on the floor and the posterior bank of the STS (MST1). 4. Pursuit cells showed two characteristics in common when their visual properties were studied while the monkey was fixating. Almost all cells showed direction selectivity for moving stimuli and included the fovea within their receptive fields. 5. The visual response of pursuit cells in the several areas differed in two ways. Cells in MTf preferred small moving spots of light, whereas cells in MSTd preferred large moving stimuli, such as a pattern of random dots. Cells in MTf had small receptive fields; those in MSTd usually had large receptive fields. Visual responses of pursuit neurons in MST1 were heterogeneous; some resembled those in MTf, whereas others were similar to those in MSTd. This suggests that the pursuit cells in MSTd and MST1 belong to different subregions of MST.

Complex motion selectivity in PMLS cortex following early lesions of primary visual cortex in the cat

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.G. OUELLETTE ◽  
K. MINVILLE ◽  
D. BOIRE ◽  
M. PTITO ◽  
C. CASANOVA
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Complex Motion ◽  
Visual Motion Cues

In the cat, the analysis of visual motion cues has generally been attributed to the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian cortex (PMLS) (Toyama et al., 1985; Rauschecker et al., 1987; Rauschecker, 1988; Kim et al., 1997). The responses of neurons in this area are not critically dependent on inputs from the primary visual cortex (VC), as lesions of VC leave neuronal response properties in PMLS relatively unchanged (Spear & Baumann, 1979; Spear, 1988; Guido et al., 1990b). However, previous studies have used a limited range of visual stimuli. In this study, we assessed whether neurons in PMLS cortex remained direction-selective to complex motion stimuli following a lesion of VC, particularly to complex random dot kinematograms (RDKs). Unilateral aspiration of VC was performed on post-natal days 7–9. Single unit extracellular recordings were performed one year later in the ipsilateral PMLS cortex. As in previous studies, a reduction in the percentage of direction selective neurons was observed with drifting sinewave gratings. We report a previously unobserved phenomenon with sinewave gratings, in which there is a greater modulation of firing rate at the temporal frequency of the stimulus in animals with a lesion of VC, suggesting an increased segregation of ON and OFF sub-regions. A significant portion of neurons in PMLS cortex were direction selective to simple (16/18) and complex (11/16) RDKs. However, the strength of direction selectivity to both stimuli was reduced as compared to normals. The data suggest that complex motion processing is still present, albeit reduced, in PMLS cortex despite the removal of VC input. The complex RDK motion selectivity is consistent with both geniculo-cortical and extra-geniculate thalamo-cortical pathways in residual direction encoding.

scholarly journals Distributed and Retinotopically Asymmetric Processing of Coherent Motion in Mouse Visual Cortex

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin K. Sit ◽  
Michael J. Goard
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Coherent Motion ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Calcium Indicator ◽  
Mouse Cortex ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Visual Cortical

ABSTRACTPerception of visual motion is important for a range of ethological behaviors in mammals. In primates, specific higher visual cortical regions are specialized for processing of coherent visual motion. However, the distribution of motion processing among visual cortical areas in mice is unclear, despite the powerful genetic tools available for measuring population neural activity. Here, we used widefield and 2-photon calcium imaging of transgenic mice expressing a calcium indicator in excitatory neurons to measure mesoscale and cellular responses to coherent motion across the visual cortex. Imaging of primary visual cortex (V1) and several higher visual areas (HVAs) during presentation of natural movies and random dot kinematograms (RDKs) revealed heterogeneous responses to coherent motion. Although coherent motion responses were observed throughout visual cortex, particular HVAs in the putative dorsal stream (PM, AL, AM) exhibited stronger responses than ventral stream areas (LM and LI). Moreover, beyond the differences between visual areas, there was considerable heterogeneity within each visual area. Individual visual areas exhibited an asymmetry across the vertical retinotopic axis (visual elevation), such that neurons representing the inferior visual field exhibited greater responses to coherent motion. These results indicate that processing of visual motion in mouse cortex is distributed unevenly across visual areas and exhibits a spatial bias within areas, potentially to support processing of optic flow during spatial navigation.

Neural Mechanisms of Motion Processing in the Mammalian Retina

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wei
Keyword(s):  
Visual Motion ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Multiple Streams ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
Motion Features

Visual motion on the retina activates a cohort of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). This population activity encodes multiple streams of information extracted by parallel retinal circuits. Motion processing in the retina is best studied in the direction-selective circuit. The main focus of this review is the neural basis of direction selectivity, which has been investigated in unprecedented detail using state-of-the-art functional, connectomic, and modeling methods. Mechanisms underlying the encoding of other motion features by broader RGC populations are also discussed. Recent discoveries at both single-cell and population levels highlight the dynamic and stimulus-dependent engagement of multiple mechanisms that collectively implement robust motion detection under diverse visual conditions.

Cholinergic and GABAergic receptors on fly tangential cells and their role in visual motion detection

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1786-1799 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Brotz ◽  
A. Borst
Keyword(s):  
Visual Motion ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Calliphora Erythrocephala ◽  
Lobula Plate ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Gabaa Receptor Antagonist ◽  
Alpha Bungarotoxin

1. To identify some of the neurotransmitters involved in the processing of visual motion information the pharmacology of transmitter receptors on motion-sensitive visual interneurons (VS and HS cells) was investigated in an in vitro preparation of the blowfly (Calliphora erythrocephala) brain. Cholinergic and GABAergic drugs were applied in the bath and iontophoretically while recording intracellularly from HS and VS cells. 2. Bath-applied carbachol (10 and 100 microM) leads to a depolarization in HS and VS cells. One micromolar nicotine also has a depolarizing effect. Both agonists are effective in 0 Ca2+/high Mg(2+)-saline, too, which isolates the cells synaptically. The muscarinic agonists pilocarpine and oxotremorine have no effects on the membrane potential. 3. Iontophoretic application of acetylcholine, carbachol, and nicotine depolarizes VS and HS cells. The iontophoretic carbachol response is antagonized by alpha-bungarotoxin (EC50 = 0.19 microM), mecamylamine (EC50 = 0.32 microM), d-tubocurarine (EC50 = 9.5 microM), and bicuculline but not by decamethonium and scopolamine. 4. Bath application of muscimol strongly hyperpolarizes VS cells in normal fly saline. The gamma-aminobutyric acid-C (GABAC)-receptor agonist cis-4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA) has no effects. The hyperpolarizing response to iontophoretic applied muscimol is present in 0 Ca2+/high Mg2+ saline as well as in Co(2+)-containing saline. The muscimol response is reduced in low chloride saline and thus chloride sensitive. The muscimol response is blocked by picrotoxinin (EC50 = 3.4 microM) but not by the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. 5. Taken together the primary responses of the lobula plate tangential cells appear to be nicotinic cholinergic and GABAergic. 6. The pharmacology of natural synaptic input to VS cells was investigated by extracellular electrical stimulation of the medulla. Such evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) are blocked reversibly in 0 Ca2+/high Mg2+ saline. The nicotinic antagonists mecamylamine (1 microM) and d-tubocurarine (50-100 microM) abolish or diminish the EPSPs, respectively. 7. The pharmacological data are incorporated into a semicellular model of a visual motion detector favoring a role of lobula plate tangential cells in certain steps of visual motion processing. Cholinergic and GABAergic inputs are an ideal cellular implementation of a linear subtraction of the signals arising from local motion-sensitive elements with opposite preferred direction. Such a mechanism enhances direction-selectivity and, together with dendritic integration, increases the sensitivity of the tangential cells for wide-field motion.

Visual Motion Processing

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Guthier
Keyword(s):  
Optical Flow ◽  
Biological Motion ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Feed Forward Neural Network ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Natural Counterpart

The capability to recognize biological motion, i.e. gestures, human actions or face movements is crucial for social interactions, for predators, prey or artifcial systems interacting in a dynamic environment. In this thesis an artifcial feed-forward neural network for biological motion recognition is proposed. Like its natural counterpart, it consists of multiple layers organized in two streams, one for processing static and one for processing dynamic form information. The key component of the proposed system is a novel unsupervised learning algorithn, called VNMF, that is based on sparsity, non-negativity, inhibition and direction selectivity. In the frst layer of the dorsal stream, the VNMF is modifed to solve the optical flow estimation problem. In the subsequent layer the VNMF algorithm extracts prototypical patterns, such as optical flow patterns shaped e.g. as moving heads or lim parts. For the ventral stream the VNMF algorithm learns distict gradient structures, resembling edg...

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