Biomedical subjects
T D Albright
Publications and source records attributed to T D Albright.
Contribution of area MT to perception of three-dimensional shape: a computational study.
Successful recognition and manipulation of objects in one's visual environment is critically dependent upon the ability to recover three-dimensional (3D) surface geometry from two-dimensional (2D) retinal images. The relative motion of image features, caused by relative displacement of object and observer, has characteristic properties that betray components of the 3D source geometry (distance, tilt, slant and curvature) and is among the most valuable sources of information used for 3D surface recovery by the primate visual system. We have considered the behavior of motion-sensitive neurons in primate visual cortex and found that their properties closely resemble those of differential motion operators that can be used to formally characterize the 3D shape of a smooth moving surface. Our analysis has led us to identify a set of three orders of filters for differential motion detection. These filters behave in a manner that is strikingly similar to the spatial and velocity tuning profiles of a sub-population of neurons--those possessing antagonistic motion surrounds--in the middle temporal visual area (MT). On the basis of this analysis, we suggest that MT neurons subserve 3D surface recovery from relative motion cues.
The interpretation of visual motion: evidence for surface segmentation mechanisms.
The independent motions of objects in a visual scene are commonly manifest as overlapping retinal motions. A consequence of this overlap is the creation of spurious retinal image features--such as corners and terminated contours--that bear no direct relation to the motions of the objects that give rise to them. To reconstruct object motions, these emergent features must be distinguished from the retinal motions of real object features. This process can be studied using visual stimuli known as plaid patterns, which provide a laboratory archetype for the ubiquitous real-world circumstance of two surfaces with overlapping retinal projections. By adjusting luminance relationships in a plaid pattern it is possible to influence the perceptual interpretation of image features, such that they are seen as either an emergent consequence of occlusion or as real variations in surface reflectance. In the former case, the plaid is most likely to be to perceived as two independently moving surfaces, whereas the latter generally elicits a percept of a single moving surface. This dependence of motion perception on luminance configuration can be viewed as evidence for the involvement of surface segmentation mechanisms, which distinguish between real and emergent image features by promoting a depth-ordered neural representation of surfaces. An alternative interpretation, which does not demand such depth-ordering and feature classification, asserts that the effect of luminance configuration can be accounted for by attendant variations in the distribution of moving Fourier components. To evaluate these two proposed mechanisms, we designed novel plaid stimuli in which surface segmentation cues could be varied independently of changes in the distribution of Fourier components. Perceived motion was found to be highly correlated with the presence of appropriate segmentation cues and uncorrelated with the distribution of Fourier components. These results refute the Fourier components hypothesis, and they support our proposal that surface segmentation plays a critical role in the interpretation of visual motion signals.
Visual motion perception.
The primate visual motion system performs numerous functions essential for survival in a dynamic visual world. Prominent among these functions is the ability to recover and represent the trajectories of objects in a form that facilitates behavioral responses to those movements. The first step toward this goal, which consists of detecting the displacement of retinal image features, has been studied for many years in both psychophysical and neurobiological experiments. Evidence indicates that achievement of this step is computationally straightforward and occurs at the earliest cortical stage. The second step involves the selective integration of retinal motion signals according to the object of origin. Realization of this step is computationally demanding, as the solution is formally underconstrained. It must rely--by definition--upon utilization of retinal cues that are indicative of the spatial relationships within and between objects in the visual scene. Psychophysical experiments have documented this dependence and suggested mechanisms by which it may be achieved. Neurophysiological experiments have provided evidence for a neural substrate that may underlie this selective motion signal integration. Together they paint a coherent portrait of the means by which retinal image motion gives rise to our perceptual experience of moving objects.
'My most true mind thus makes mine eye untrue'.
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Effects of superior temporal polysensory area lesions on eye movements in the macaque monkey.
1. On the basis of its anatomic connections and single-unit properties, the superior temporal polysensory area (STP) would seem to be primarily involved in visuospatial functions. We have examined the effects of lesions of STP on saccadic eye movements, visual fixation, and smooth pursuit eye movements to directly test the hypothesis that STP is involved in visuospatial and visuomotor behavior. 2. Seven monkeys were trained to make saccades to targets 8, 15, and 22 degrees from a central fixation point along the horizontal meridian and 8 degrees from the central fixation point along the vertical meridian. One monkey was also trained to make saccades to auditory targets. The same monkeys were trained to foveate a stationary central fixation point and to follow it with a smooth pursuit eye movement when it began moving 5, 13, or 20 degrees/s. Four monkeys received unilateral STP lesions, one received a bilateral STP lesion, and as a control, two received unilateral inferior temporal cortex (IT) lesions. After testing, three of the animals with unilateral STP lesions received an additional STP lesion in the hemisphere contralateral to the first lesion. Similarly, one animal with a unilateral IT lesion received an additional IT lesion in the hemisphere contralateral to the first lesion. 3. All monkeys with complete removal of STP showed a significant increase in saccade latency to the most peripheral contralateral target, and most also had increased saccade latencies to the other contralateral targets. Saccades directed to targets along the vertical meridian or toward targets in the hemifield ipsilateral to the lesion were not impaired by removal of STP. By contrast, IT lesions did not impair the monkeys' ability to make saccadic eye movements to visual stimuli at any location, showing that saccades to visually guided targets are not impaired nonspecifically by damage to visual cortex. 4. The deficit in making eye movements after STP lesions was specific to saccade latency, with little effect on the accuracy of saccades to visual targets. 5. In the one monkey trained to make saccades to auditory targets, removal of STP did not impair saccades to auditory targets contralateral to its lesion, despite this monkey showing the largest increase in saccades latencies to visual targets. 6. There was complete recovery of saccade latency to the baseline level of performance on the saccade task after all STP lesions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
In vivo microelectrode localization in the brain of the alert monkey: a combined radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging approach.
A technique is described for in vivo localization of microelectrodes during single-unit recording in the alert monkey. Four hollow glass spheres filled with copper sulfate and iohexol were affixed to the surface of the animal's skull prior to the acquisition of a series of coronal magnetic resonance (MR) images. These reference beads were visible in both X-ray and MR images. Cranial recording chambers were then implanted bilaterally over the amygdaloid complex. A microelectrode was advanced to various depths in the subject's brain. At each selected microelectrode site, five radiographs were obtained and a small electrolytic lesion was made. Based on the data from the radiographs, we computed the position of the microelectrode tip at each site relative to the reference beads. With a precision of 625 microns, this method was used to predict the neuroanatomical location of ten microlesions placed in both subcortical and cortical structures. Postmortem histological analysis revealed that the actual location of the lesions closely matched predictions arrived at using the X-ray/MRI localization technique. This technique thus provides an accurate, reliable and noninvasive method for in vivo localization of microelectrode recording sites.
Why do things look as they do?
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What happens if it changes color when it moves?: the nature of chromatic input to macaque visual area MT.
Neurons in the middle temporal visual area (MT) of macaque cerebral cortex are highly selective for the direction of motion but not the color of a moving stimulus. Recent experiments have shown, however, that the directional selectivity of many MT neurons persists even when a moving stimulus is defined solely by chromatic variation (Charles and Logothetis, 1989; Saito et al., 1989; Dobkins and Albright, 1991 a, b; Movshon et al., 1991; Gegenfurtner et al., 1994). To illuminate the mechanisms by which area MT uses color as a cue for motion correspondence, we recorded from MT neurons while rhesus monkeys viewed an "apparent motion" stimulus in which red/green sine wave gratings underwent contrast reversal each time they were displaced in a particular direction. Under such conditions, correspondence based upon chromatically defined borders conflicts with correspondence based upon conservation of chromatic sign. When our heterochromatic stimuli possessed sufficient luminance modulation, MT neurons responded best to motion in the direction for which the sign of luminance (and chromatic) contrast was preserved. At isoluminance, however, two different chromatic influences were revealed. First, when stimuli underwent small spatial displacements, directional selectivity was elicited by movement of the stimulus in the direction of the nearest chromatically defined border, even though the sign of chromatic contrast at that border alternated over time. Under these conditions, MT neurons apparently exploited information about image borders defined by chromatic contrast while sacrificing information about the colors that make up those borders. By contrast, when chromatically defined borders provided only ambiguous information about direction of motion, MT neurons were capable of using information about the sign of chromatic contrast to detect direction of motion. The results from these experiments suggest the existence of a hybrid mechanism, one in which both signed and unsigned chromatic signals contribute to motion processing in visual area MT.
What happens if it changes color when it moves?: psychophysical experiments on the nature of chromatic input to motion detectors.
Several lines of evidence indicate that the processing of motion by the primate visual system continues even when a moving stimulus differs from its surroundings by color alone. To illuminate the mechanisms by which our visual system uses color as a token for motion correspondence, we have developed an "apparent motion" paradigm in which red/green sine-wave gratings undergo reversal of chromatic contrast sign each time they are displaced in a particular direction. Under such conditions, correspondence based upon conservation of chromatic sign conflicts with correspondence based upon chromatically-defined borders. When these heterochromatic stimuli also possess luminance modulation, motion is always perceived in the direction in which the sign of luminance contrast is preserved. At isoluminance, however, two very different chromatic influences on motion detection are revealed. First, when stimuli undergo small spatial displacements, motion is perceived in the direction of the nearest chromatically-defined border even when the sign of chromatic contrast at that border alternates over time. Under these conditions, motion detectors apparently exploit information about image borders defined by color while sacrificing information about the colors that make up those borders. By contrast, when spatial displacement is large, motion is more apt to be perceived in the direction for which sign of chromatic contrast is preserved. In this instance, information about the polarity of chromatic contrast facilitates motion detection. These results suggest that chromatic signals contributing to motion detection are of two distinct types. This conclusion has implications for the degree of crosstalk between magnocellular and parvocellular processing streams in the primate visual system and it reinforces our understanding of how image features affect the way we see things move.
Cortical processing of visual motion.
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Neural correlates of perceptual motion coherence.
The motions of overlapping contours in a visual scene may arise from the physical motion(s) of either a single or multiple surface(s). A central problem facing the visual motion system is that of assigning the most likely interpretation. The rules underlying this perceptual decision can be explored using a visual stimulus formed by superimposing two moving gratings. The resultant percept is either that of a single coherently moving 'plaid pattern' (coherent motion) or of the two component gratings sliding noncoherently across one another (noncoherent motion). When plaid patterns are configured to mimic one transparent grating overlying another, the percept of noncoherent motion dominates. We now report that neurons in the visual cortex of rhesus monkeys exhibit changes in direction tuning that parallel this perceptual phenomenon: sensitivity to the motions of the component gratings is enhanced under conditions that favour the perception of noncoherent motion. These results challenge models of cortical visual processing that fail to take into account the contribution of figural image segmentation cues to the analysis of visual motion.
Form-cue invariant motion processing in primate visual cortex.
The direction and rate at which an object moves are normally not correlated with the manifold physical cues (for example, brightness and texture) that enable it to be seen. As befits its goals, human perception of visual motion largely evades this diversity of cues for image form; direction and rate of motion are perceived (with few exceptions) in a fashion that does not depend on the physical characteristics of the object. The middle temporal visual area of the primate cerebral cortex contains many neurons that respond selectively to motion in a particular direction and is an integral part of the neural substrate for perception of motion. When stimulated with moving patterns characterized by one of three very diverse cues for form, many middle temporal neurons exhibited similar directional tuning. This lack of sensitivity for figural cue characteristics may allow the uniform perception of motion of objects having a broad spectrum of physical cues.
Heterochromatic Fusion Nystagmus: its use in estimating chromatic equiluminance in humans and monkeys.
The use of chromatic patterns that are equated for luminance has become increasingly popular in psychophysical and neurophysiological studies of visual processing. The currently available techniques for equating different colors for brightness rely upon human reports of perceptual events that are reduced at some luminance ratio. We report here the results of a study using a technique we have recently developed that produces a vivid and compelling motion percept only at isoluminance. That is, unlike previous methods, this technique relies upon a perceptual event (motion) that actually becomes more salient at isoluminance. We also observed that the optokinesis generated by the moving pattern mirrors the perceptual reports at all luminance ratios. If used in this manner, the technique can provide an estimate of chromatic isoluminance in a variety of species and can be used to corroborate a human subject's perceptual experience.
Motion coherency rules are form-cue invariant.
Object features can be made manifest by differences in a variety of physical attributes or figural cues. In this study we provide evidence that motion signals arising from different figural cues can be combined to produce a percept of a coherently moving (heterogeneous-cue) pattern. Moreover, as is true for homogeneous-cue patterns, similarity along the dimensions of contrast (we introduce the idea of contrast equivalence) and spatial frequency determines whether coherent motion is perceived. These results are in accordance with recent physiological evidence demonstrating that directional selectivity of many neurons in cortical visual area MT is invariant over changes in the figural cue that defines the moving stimulus ("form-cue invariance").
Color and the integration of motion signals.
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Transparency and coherence in human motion perception.
When confronted with moving images, the visual system often must decide whether the motion signals arise from a single object or from multiple objects. A special case of this problem arises when two independently moving gratings are superimposed. The gratings tend to cohere and move unambiguously in a single direction (pattern motion) instead of moving independently (component motion). Here we report that the tendency to see pattern motion depends very strongly on the luminance of the intersections (that is, to regions where the gratings overlap) relative to that of the gratings in a way that closely parallels the physics of transparency. When the luminance of these regions is chosen appropriately, pattern motion is destroyed and replaced by the appearance of two transparent gratings moving independently. The observations imply that motion detecting mechanisms in the visual system must have access to tacit 'knowledge' of the physics of transparency and that this knowledge can be used to segment the scene into different objects. The same knowledge could, in principle, be used to avoid confusing shadows with real object boundaries.
A new technique for estimating chromatic isoluminance in humans and monkeys.
Current approaches to the problem of equating different colors for luminance (chromatic isoluminance) rely upon human reports of perceptual events that are reduced at some luminance ratio. In this report, a technique is described that evokes a vivid percept of motion of a textured pattern only at isoluminance. Furthermore, in both humans and monkeys, the moving stimulus produces a striking optokinetic response in the same direction as the perceived motion. If used in this manner, the technique can provide an estimate of chromatic isoluminance in a variety of species and be used to corroborate a human subject's perceptual judgement.