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Learning to see again: biological constraints on cortical plasticity and the implications for sight restoration technologies

Award Number: R01EY031312
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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ABSTRACT The field of sight restoration has made dramatic progress: within a decade, many blind individuals are likely to be offered a wide range of options for sight restoration that depend on widely different technologies, including retinal implants, cortical implants and optogenetics. However, interactions between implant electronics and the underlying neurophysiology of the retina or cortex mean that the vision provided by most of these technologies will differ substantially from normal sight. What role does cortical plasticity play in helping patients make use of this artificial visual input? Over the past 15 years our research group has been generating computational models, developed using a combination of physiological and psychophysical data, which predict the percepts that patients might experience for a variety of sight recovery technologies. We propose to use these models to simulate, within visually normal participants, a critical neurophysiological distortion inherent in many sight restoration technologies: the simultaneous stimulation of on and off cells. Our goal is to see how training with this distorted input alters neural representations in object selective areas such as lateral occipital cortex (LOC). Using fMRI, we will measure neural responses to distorted and undistorted objects, before and after training with distorted input. One possibility is that learning to recognize distorted objects results in distorted object images becoming cues for previously learned neural representations within LOC. The alternative is that this training results in the generation of novel representations within LOC. This work will provide novel insights regarding the fundamental mechanisms of cortical plasticity by asking whether, in adulthood, it is possible to reconfigure the fundamental building blocks of visual perception?


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: 2023 ( Subtotal = $509,751 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE	SEATTLE	WA	98195	KING	USA	Vision Research	002	3	6/7/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$89,941
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE	SEATTLE	WA	98195	KING	USA	Vision Research	001	3	6/2/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$382,334
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE	SEATTLE	WA	98195	KING	USA	Vision Research	000	2	12/30/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$37,476
2023	2023	THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON VICE PR	4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE	SEATTLE	WA	98195	KING	USA	Vision Research	003	2	9/1/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
														Subtotal = $509,751

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $371,045 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE	SEATTLE	WA	98195	KING	USA	Vision Research	000	2	4/29/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$371,045
														Subtotal = $371,045

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $351,622 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE	SEATTLE	WA	98195	KING	USA	Vision Research	000	1	4/21/2021	NEW	$351,622
														Subtotal = $351,622

Grand Total All Awards = $1,232,418

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Learning to see again: biological constraints on cortical plasticity and the implications for sight restoration technologies

Award Number: R01EY031312

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

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