Scientific

Abstract – To overcome variability, estimate scene characteristics, and compress sensory input, perceptual systems pool sensory data into statistical summaries. Despite growing evidence for statistical summaries in perceptions, the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this talk, I will present our recent works on representational dynamics of both sequential and concurrent averaging process, respectively. Then, I will talk about how we experience visual world by presenting a behavioral study on the serial dependence of ensemble representation that combines both spatial and temporal integration processes. Hopefully, if I can make it in time, I’d like to share our recent study on the multivariate EEG pattern analysis of induced astigmatism. https://centers.ibs.re.kr/html/glia_en/people/people_0203.html

What does the visual cortex do in people born completely blind? Early-onset blindness leads to reorganization in visual cortex connectivity and function, but this reorganization is not random. I will present evidence that plasticity plays different roles in early as compared to association visual cortex regions. Specifically, the association visual cortices maintain some of their original roles, processing information for categories parallel to those they process through vision (e.g. script and body shapes). In contrast, the early blind visual cortex is recruited for many non-visual tasks across sensory modalities (audition, touch, smell) and cognitive domains (perception, action, memory, language). This has led to theoretical disagreement about the role the visual cortex in blindness, and more broadly, about the capacity of the human brain for plasticity. However, research of brain plasticity has mostly been conducted at the group level, largely ignoring differences in brain reorganization across early blind individuals. I will present findings in a large cohort of blind individuals that shows that reorganization of early visual cortex is not ubiquitous, offering a solution to the diversity of group-level findings. It additionally highlights the important role for sensory experience during development in driving individual differences. Building on these findings, I will discuss how variability in reorganization in the early blind may affect the capacity to benefit from sight-restoring treatment. Overall, our data highlight the diversity in brain plasticity across regions and people, and the potential of harnessing individual differences for fitting rehabilitation approaches for vision loss. https://neuro.georgetown.edu/directory/striem-amit/

Abstract – Normal vision relies on exquisite control of the eye movements. Vertebrate extraocular motor neurons control the six muscles that move each eye. We know comparatively little about the development of extraocular motor neurons and the emergence of the behaviors they subserve. This gap constrains our ability to address developmental disorders of the oculomotor system. To make progress, we have developed the larval zebrafish as a model to study the development of the oculomotor system and the behaviors it subserves. Larval zebrafish are a small vertebrate with exceptional optical and genetic access to developing neural circuits. I’ll share highlights of our lab’s efforts to understand oculomotor development. Specifically, I’ll focus on the development of extraocular motor neurons in cranial nuclei nIII/nIV that are responsible for torsional/vertical eye movements such as those that comprise the gravito-inertial vestibulo-ocular reflex. I’ll begin with published findings establishing that an extraocular motor neuron’s “birthdate” predicts which muscle it will control and where its soma lies within nIII/nIV. Next, I’ll share unpublished progress on two fronts: First, we’re working to discover the molecular determinants responsible for proper development of extraocular motor neurons. In service of this aim, we’ve generated a mutant line that has lost phox2a expression. These fish lose extraocular motor neurons in nIII/nIV leaving only the lateral rectus motor neurons in nVI intact. The eyes deviate towards the ears, similar to human patients with CFEOM type 2, who have mutations in PHOX2A. Finally, I’ll end by showing how we use a new imaging technique (Tilt In Place Microscopy, or TIPM) to map the emergence of selectivity and sensitivity in the responses of individual extraocular motor neurons across development. https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/david-schoppik Abstract Normal vision relies on exquisite control of the eye movements. Vertebrate extraocular motor neurons control the six muscles that move each eye. We know comparatively little about the development of extraocular motor neurons and the emergence of the behaviors they subserve. This gap constrains our ability to address developmental disorders of the oculomotor system. To make progress, we have developed the larval zebrafish as a model to study the development of the oculomotor system and the behaviors it subserves. Larval zebrafish are a small vertebrate with exceptional optical and genetic access to developing neural circuits. I’ll share highlights of our lab’s efforts to understand oculomotor development. Specifically, I’ll focus on the development of extraocular motor neurons in cranial nuclei nIII/nIV that are responsible for torsional/vertical eye movements such as those that comprise the gravito-inertial vestibulo-ocular reflex. I’ll begin with published findings establishing that an extraocular motor neuron’s “birthdate” predicts which muscle it will control and where its soma lies within nIII/nIV. Next, I’ll share unpublished progress on two fronts: First, we’re working to discover the molecular determinants responsible for proper development of extraocular motor neurons. In service of this aim, we’ve generated a mutant line that has lost phox2a expression. These fish lose extraocular motor neurons in nIII/nIV leaving only the lateral rectus motor neurons in nVI intact. The eyes deviate towards the ears, similar to human patients with CFEOM type 2, who have mutations in PHOX2A. Finally, I’ll end by showing how we use a new imaging technique (Tilt In Place Microscopy, or TIPM) to map the emergence of selectivity and sensitivity in the responses of individual extraocular motor neurons across development. https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/david-schoppik 

Abstract – Macular degeneration (MD) represents one of the main causes of vision loss and a serious health concern worldwide. Late-stage MD leads to the development of a region of retinal blindness (scotoma), forcing patients to adopt compensatory oculomotor strategies to perform everyday tasks such as reading, recognizing faces, and navigation. A common strategy involves functionally replacing the fovea with a portion of spare retina outside of the scotoma, called Preferred retinal locus (PRL). However, the mechanisms underlying PRL development appear elusive, and progresses are complicated by practical issues inherent to MD research, including compliance, transportation to testing facilities, high heterogeneity, and comorbidity. Gaze-contingent simulation of central vision loss offers a potential framework for the study of compensatory oculomotor strategies in which many parameters, such as the onset, size, and shape of the scotoma can be precisely controlled. I will present a simulated scotoma study aimed at understanding the development of compensatory oculomotor strategies: specifically, I will describe a method to extract relevant oculomotor metrics, show how these change with training, and discuss task-specific and individual differences in oculomotor behavior in conditions of simulated central vision loss. Taken together, these results highlight how simulated scotomas may help understand oculomotor patterns following central vision loss, and potentially train eye movements in MD patients. These studies are part of a larger framework that I am currently developing to characterize, evaluate and train central vision loss in an integrated model that addresses the far-reaching consequences of loss of central vision, including changes in low level vision, oculomotor control and higher-level visual functions. https://psychology.ucr.edu/about-our-department/postdoctoral-researchers/ Improving Zoom accessibility for people with hearing impairments People with hearing impairments often use lipreading and speechreading to improve speech comprehension. This approach is helpful but only works if the speaker’s face and mouth are clearly visible. For the benefit of people with hearing impairments on Zoom calls, please enable your device’s camera whenever you are speaking on Zoom, and face the camera while you speak. (Feel free to disable your camera when you aren’t speaking.) Abstract:Macular degeneration (MD) represents one of the main causes of vision loss and a serious health concern worldwide. Late-stage MD leads to the development of a region of retinal blindness (scotoma), forcing patients to adopt compensatory oculomotor strategies to perform everyday tasks such as reading, recognizing faces, and navigation. A common strategy involves functionally replacing the fovea with a portion of spare retina outside of the scotoma, called Preferred retinal locus (PRL).However, the mechanisms underlying PRL development appear elusive, and progresses are complicated by practical issues inherent to MD research, including compliance, transportation to testing facilities, high heterogeneity, and comorbidity.Gaze-contingent simulation of central vision loss offers a potential framework for the study of compensatory oculomotor strategies in which many parameters, such as the onset, size, and shape of the scotoma can be precisely controlled.I will present a simulated scotoma study aimed at understanding the development of compensatory oculomotor strategies: specifically, I will describe a method to extract relevant oculomotor metrics, show how these change with training, and discuss task-specific and individual differences in oculomotor behavior in conditions of simulated central vision loss.Taken together, these results highlight how simulated scotomas may help understand oculomotor patterns following central vision loss, and potentially train eye movements in MD patients.These studies are part of a larger framework that I am currently developing to characterize, evaluate and train central vision loss in an integrated model that addresses the far-reaching consequences of loss of central vision, including changes in low-level vision, oculomotor control, and higher-level visual functions. https://psychology.ucr.edu/about-our-department/postdoctoral-researchers/Improving Zoom accessibility for people with hearing impairmentsPeople with hearing impairments often use lipreading and speechreading to improve speech comprehension. This approach is helpful but only works if the speaker’s face and mouth are clearly visible. For the benefit of people with hearing impairments on Zoom calls, please enable your device’s camera whenever you are speaking on Zoom, and face the camera while you speak. (Feel free to disable your camera when you aren’t speaking.)

Abstract- The amount of sensory information we receive at any one moment far outstrips our brain’s ability to process this information. We can effortlessly withstand this deluge of sensory input due to our ability to prioritize and maintain the subset of information within our environment that is most relevant to our behavioral goals. Attention and working memory, the processes that enable this prioritization and maintenance, are thought to be supported by a network of cerebral cortical areas spanning visual, parietal, and frontal cortices. The cerebellum, a subcortical structure typically associated with the coordination of motor actions, has not been traditionally implicated in attention and working memory. In this talk, I will present evidence from a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychophysical experiments for a cerebellar role in visual attention and working memory processes. In particular, I will present the findings of a recent study that examines whether the cerebellum encodes motor-independent stimulus-specific representations of items maintained in working memory. I will further discuss recent behavioral and eye-tracking work aimed at testing the hypothesis that the cerebellum is critical for the adaptive control of visual attention and working memory processes. https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/research-fellows-2/james-brissenden.html

Abstract – Emerging platforms such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and autonomous machines, all intimately interact with humans. They must be built from the ground up, with principled considerations of human perception. This talk will discuss some of our recent work on exploiting the symbiosis between Computer Science and Vision Science. We will discuss how to jointly optimize imaging, computing, and human perception to obtain unprecedented efficiency. The overarching theme is that a computing problem that seems challenging may become significantly easier when one considers how computing interacts with imaging and human perception in an end-to-end system. In particular, we will discuss two specific projects: real-time eye tracking for AR/VR and power optimization for VR displays. If time permits, I will also briefly discuss our ongoing work using computational techniques to help dichromats regain the trichromatic vision. https://www.cs.rochester.edu/people/faculty/zhu_yuhao/index.html Improving Zoom accessibility for people with hearing impairments People with hearing impairments often use lipreading and speechreading to improve speech comprehension. This approach is helpful but only works if the speaker’s face and mouth are clearly visible. For the benefit of people with hearing impairments on Zoom calls, please enable your device’s camera whenever you are speaking on Zoom, and face the camera while you speak. (Feel free to disable your camera when you aren’t speaking.) Abstract: Emerging platforms such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and autonomous machines all intimately interact with humans. They must be built from the ground up, with principled considerations of human perception. This talk will discuss some of our recent work on exploiting the symbiosis between Computer Science and Vision Science. We will discuss how to jointly optimize imaging, computing, and human perception to obtain unprecedented efficiency. The overarching theme is that a computing problem that seems challenging may become significantly easier when one considers how computing interacts with imaging and human perception in an end-to-end system. In particular, we will discuss two specific projects: real-time eye tracking for AR/VR and power optimization for VR displays. If time permits, I will also briefly discuss our ongoing work using computational techniques to help dichromats regain the trichromatic vision. https://www.cs.rochester.edu/people/faculty/zhu_yuhao/index.html