The role of neural feedback control for object recognition during partial occlusion
About
One prominent feature of biological visual systems, including our own, is the ability to recognize objects independent of various transformations, such as location and orientation. One of the most dramatic of these transformations is occlusion: non-transparent objects in the line of sight closer to the observer will block objects further away from forming a complete image on the retina. While most previous studies of the neural mechanisms of object vision mainly focus on the representation of unoccluded objects, only a few studies aimed to address how the challenge of partial occlusion is resolved in our brain. Previous studies have suggested that visual neurons respond to partially occluded objects in a compromised way; but the whole picture is still unclear. To fully understand how the brain resolves partial occlusion, two main questions need to be answered: 1) How does the brain represent the occluded item, the occluder and their relationship? 2) What is the neural mechanism underlying the recognition of partially occluded items?
Goals
In this project we propose to study how primate brain performs object recognition under partial occlusion and the specific roles of feedback from PFC to IT in this process. We will record simultaneously from both areas while the monkey matches partially occluded objects to unoccluded objects. Studying how feedfoward and feedback signals flow between IT and PFC cooperate in recognizing partially occluded objects will help us construct new object recognition systems.
Researchers
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Mohammad-Reza Abolghasemi Dehaqani
abolghasemi@ipm.ir
Jalaledin Noroozi
jalaledin.noroozi[at]gmail[dot]com
Ehsan Rezayat
rezayat [at] ipm [dot] ir
Atlas Shahamati
atlas.shahamati[at]gmail[dot]com
Collaborators
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Le Chang
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
lechang[at]ion[dot]ac[dot]cn
Achievements and Future works
We have shown that repeated reward experience enables primates to efficiently locate good objects when searching for reward [5]. Besides, our recent results have implicated temporal-prefrontal circuitry along with functionally connected subcortical regions in the implicit and high-capacity memory for long-term retention of object values (1). In another study, we showed that the primate prefrontal cortex represents both flexible short-term and stable long-term high-capacity memories, which could prioritize valuable objects far into the future [2]. Currently, we are investigating the neural mechanism of value-driven visual search in non-human primates and also the neural networks of value memory in humans. Additionally, we are investigating common and dissociable neural mechanism for novelty [4], aversiveness and risk with respect to reward [3]. These findings will shed light on the neural basis of long-term value-based memories with implications for maladaptive behaviors such as drug addiction and obesity.
Selected Publications
[1] Ghazizadeh et al, PNAS, 2018 [2] Ghazizadeh et al, Current Biology 2018 [3] Ghazizadeh et al, Frontiers Neuroscience, 2016 [4] Ghazizadeh et al, Biorxiv, 2019 [5] Ghazizadeh et al, Journal of Vision, 2016 [6] Daneshi et al, Scientific Reports, 2019 [7] Ghazizadeh et al, J Neurophys, 2010 [8] Ataei et al, Int Conf Sampling Theory, 2019
Collaborators
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Laboratory of sensorimotor research, National Institutes of Health Motor control lab, Johns Hopkins University Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Marseille University of Melbourne, Australia
Project Name
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Date: January 2020
Client: Lines
Category: Branding
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Date: January 2020
Client: Southwest
Category: Website Design
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