Wednesday, August 20, 2025 8/20/2025

Retinotopic-to-egocentric transformation in visuoparietal cortex

Award Number: F31EY037558
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/08/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Retinotopic-to-egocentric transformation in visuoparietal cortex - Project Summary To perceive and interact with a complex and changing environment, animals use visual inputs to build an internal model of their local space. Early visual regions one or two synapses from the retina represent object locations in a retinotopic reference frame preserving the relative topography of retinal photoreceptors. Significant cortical processing is required to transform these object representations to an egocentric reference frame found in association cortex, in which object locations are mapped relative to the animal’s head or body. The neural circuitry underlying this critical transformation is not well understood, especially under conditions of active visual sampling. Computational models have proposed that egocentric object location can be calculated by integrating retinotopic location and gaze orientation in a multi-layer artificial neural network. This model makes testable predictions about the neuron response types that would be expected in the intermediate steps of reference frame transformation. In this proposal, I will use two-photon calcium imaging to record the activity of large populations of cortical neurons as mice locomote within a chamber containing a salient visual object. By measuring eye movements and the location of the object relative to the animal, I will develop an analysis approach for distinguishing retinotopic and egocentric object vector tuning in large populations of cortical neurons spanning visuoparietal cortex. I will first map the distribution of reference frame coding between primary visual cortex (V1) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) to determine which neural populations compute this transformation (Aim 1). To determine how retinotopic position and eye position signals are integrated within single neurons which show joint coding for multiple behavioral variables, I will record the functional calcium activity of dendritic spines in animals with sparse calcium indicator expression (Aim 2). Together, these results will reveal the biological implementations underlying reference frame transformation in the mammalian cortex. In understanding this canonical computation, we will better understand how visual deficits contribute to deficits in spatial perception and navigation.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $39,088 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA	3227 CHEADLE HALL	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93106	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Vision Research	000	1	7/8/2025	NEW	$39,088
														Subtotal = $39,088

Grand Total All Awards = $39,088

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Retinotopic-to-egocentric transformation in visuoparietal cortex

Award Number: F31EY037558

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/08/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer