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Elucidating Novel Features of Visual Processing and Physiological Connectivity from Retina to Primary Visual Cortex

Award Number: R01EY031059
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2030

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Elucidating Novel Features of Visual Processing and Physiological Connectivity from Retina to Primary Visual Cortex - Project Summary The mouse has become a major model system for vision due to genetic accessibility, yet mice and primates exhibit extensive differences in visual system structure and function. This project investigates how naturalistic flow stimuli are processed throughout the primate visual pathway, comparing with previous findings in mice to understand both species-specific adaptations and conserved visual processing principles. Flow stimuli previously revealed surprising spatial frequency boosting in mouse visual system - a nonlinear mechanism allowing mice to process higher spatial frequencies than predicted by linear models. To understand how high spatial frequency content is signaled in the primate visual system, we will examine responses to flow stimuli in marmoset retina, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and primary visual cortex (V1), analyze eye movement contributions, and determine how diverse cell types collectively signal flow features. We will also compare how processing at these three stages (retina, LGN and V1) may differ near the fovea and in the periphery. In Aim 1, we will determine how flow stimuli are signaled in central and peripheral primate V1. We hypothesize that foveal V1 responses will match linear receptive field models dominated by the parvocellular pathway, while peripheral V1 will show spatial frequency boosting similar to mouse. In Aim 2, we will determine contributions of different retinal cell types to signaling flow stimuli. We hypothesize parasol (magnocellular) RGCs, with high contrast sensitivity and nonlinear spatial integration, will transmit higher spatial frequency structure than expected from their linear receptive fields, revealing a greater role in high-acuity vision than previously appreciated. In Aim 3, we will determine how population coding changes from retina to LGN to V1. We will leverage a novel analysis approach we call ‘encoding manifolds’ that allows visualing the structure and organization of neural coding at a population-level. Previous work in mice revealed ‘discrete’ encoding in retina versus ‘continuous’ encoding in cortex; we hypothesize primate V1 will be more similar to primate retina than mouse V1 was to mouse retina. This work is significant as it provides the first integrated analysis of encoding across multiple stages of primate visual processing and yields the first comprehensive comparison between rodent and primate visual systems using matched stimuli and analytical approaches. It also focuses on one of the most critical aspects of primate vision – the processing of high spatial frequency content in scenes. Innovations include novel flow stimuli that recruit nonlinear visual mechanisms, high-precision eye tracking to present matched stimuli to ex vivo retinas, and encoding manifold analyses that reveal population-level transformations invisible in single-unit analyses. Results will advance our understanding of how spatial vision operates across mammalian species and how the visual system processes naturalistic spatial information under real-world conditions and in the presence of eye movements including saccades and microsaccades.


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: 2026 ( Subtotal = $2,704,861 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	000	5	4/27/2026	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$2,704,861
														Subtotal = $2,704,861

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = -$980 )
2025	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	000	4	8/15/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	-$980
														Subtotal = -$980

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	001	4	2/14/2024	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$410,494
2024	2022	DUKE UNIVERSITY	2200 W MAIN ST	DURHAM	NC	27705	DURHAM	USA	Vision Research	000	3	2/14/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$410,494
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $473,149 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	001	4	8/2/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$473,149
2023	2022	DUKE UNIVERSITY	2200 W MAIN ST	DURHAM	NC	27705	DURHAM	USA	Vision Research	000	3	8/1/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $473,149

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $461,477 )
2022	2022	DUKE UNIVERSITY	2200 W MAIN ST STE 710	DURHAM	NC	27708	DURHAM	USA	Vision Research	000	3	4/25/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$461,477
														Subtotal = $461,477

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $487,568 )
2021	2021	DUKE UNIVERSITY	2200 W MAIN ST STE 710	DURHAM	NC	27708	DURHAM	USA	Vision Research	000	2	3/22/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$487,568
														Subtotal = $487,568

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $528,815 )
2020	2020	DUKE UNIVERSITY	2200 W MAIN ST STE 710	DURHAM	NC	27708	DURHAM	USA	Vision Research	000	1	8/5/2020	NEW	$528,815
														Subtotal = $528,815

Grand Total All Awards = $4,654,890

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Elucidating Novel Features of Visual Processing and Physiological Connectivity from Retina to Primary Visual Cortex

Award Number: R01EY031059

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2030

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