Neural responses to relative motion in V1 and V2 of macaque monkeys

Relative motion information is required for solving many complex visual tasks, such as depth perception by motion parallax and motion-induced figure/ground segmentation. However, little is known about the neural substrate for relative motion. To explore the neural mechanisms underlying relative motion, we recorded single unit responses to relative motion in macaque VI and V2. We found that a substantial portion of V1 (62.2%) and V2 (70%) neurons respond to relative motion inputs. These neurons usually show V-shaped tuning curves to relative motion, with minimum response at zero relative motion. They respond predominantly to relative motion rather than to absolute motion. The relative ratio of target velocity to background velocity, rather than the absolute amplitude of either target/background velocity or the difference of the two determines neural responses. In area VI, relative-motion-defined boundaries matching a cell's preferred orientation evoke excitatory responses in a relative motion sensitive neuron. However, the responses are not strong enough to make such a neuron selective to the orientation of the relative-motion-defined boundaries. Relative motion sensitive neurons may participate in segregating objects from a moving background as well as preprocessing complex motion patterns.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2001

Author dc:creator

• Cao, An, 1973-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Peter H. Schiller.

• Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8185

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/8185