在猴子颞下皮质中的形态表征实际上不会因自由观看而改变。

Form representation in monkey inferotemporal cortex is virtually unaltered by free viewing.

作者信息

DiCarlo J J, Maunsell J H

机构信息

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, S603, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.

出版信息

Nat Neurosci. 2000 Aug;3(8):814-21. doi: 10.1038/77722.

DOI:10.1038/77722

PMID:10903575

Abstract

How are objects represented in the brain during natural behavior? Visual object recognition in primates is thought to depend on the inferotemporal cortex (IT). In most neurophysiological studies of IT, monkeys hold their direction of gaze fixed while isolated visual stimuli are presented (controlled viewing). However, during natural behavior, primates visually explore cluttered environments by changing gaze direction several times each second (free viewing). We examined the effect of free viewing on IT neuronal responses in monkeys engaged in a form-recognition task. By making small, real-time stimulus adjustments, we produced nearly identically retinal stimulation during controlled and free viewing. Nearly 90% of neuronal responses were unaffected by free viewing, and average stimulus selectivity was unchanged. Thus, neuronal representations that likely underlie form recognition are virtually unaltered by free viewing.

摘要

在自然行为中，大脑是如何表征物体的？灵长类动物的视觉物体识别被认为依赖于颞下皮质（IT）。在大多数关于IT的神经生理学研究中，猴子在呈现孤立视觉刺激时保持注视方向固定（受控观看）。然而，在自然行为中，灵长类动物每秒会多次改变注视方向，从而在杂乱的环境中进行视觉探索（自由观看）。我们研究了自由观看对参与形状识别任务的猴子IT神经元反应的影响。通过进行小幅度的实时刺激调整，我们在受控观看和自由观看期间产生了几乎相同的视网膜刺激。近90%的神经元反应不受自由观看的影响，平均刺激选择性也没有变化。因此，可能构成形状识别基础的神经元表征实际上不会因自由观看而改变。