视知觉训练与初级视皮层神经元信息及其表征容量

通过分析猕猴初级视皮层（V1）神经元的群体活动在轮廓线检测训练过程中的变化发现：知觉训练可以降低V1神经元响应在不同试次之间的变异性，促使V1神经元对相同刺激的响应更加稳定；训练还可降低V1神经元群体中神经元活动之间的相关性，使V1神经元之间的活动更加独立；增加了神经活动的维度，提高了神经元表征信息的容量，减少了冗余的神经活动，进而提升了感知能力.     

感受野视觉特征整合模型及应用

 采用基本ICA模拟视觉感知机制对自然图像分解得到的图像基函数在空间排列上是混乱的,这与视觉生理机制相互矛盾.模拟视皮层感受野间的信息整合机制,建立了新的计算模型.针对基于内容的图像故障区域检测问题,提出了相应的高效率少样本检测算法. 首先,以列车正常和故障图像序列作为训练数据,利用拓扑ICA方法学习图像基函数,由此得到的独立分量系数作为神经元响应,然后模拟同步振荡机制选择响应强烈的神经元,输出其对应的内容,最后通过自动对比实现图像故障区域的快速定位.实验结果表明,与传统方法相比较,引入视觉信息整合机制的新模型及其算法能够提高故障检测率.     

Temporal precision in the neural code and the timescales of natural vision

The timing of action potentials relative to sensory stimuli can be precise down to milliseconds in the visual system, even though the relevant timescales of natural vision are much slower. The existence of such precision contributes to a fundamental debate over the basis of the neural code and, specifically, what timescales are important for neural computation. Using recordings in the lateral geniculate nucleus, here we demonstrate that the relevant timescale of neuronal spike trains depends on the frequency content of the visual stimulus, and that 'relative', not absolute, precision is maintained both during spatially uniform white-noise visual stimuli and naturalistic movies. Using information-theoretic techniques, we demonstrate a clear role of relative precision, and show that the experimentally observed temporal structure in the neuronal response is necessary to represent accurately the more slowly changing visual world. By establishing a functional role of precision, we link visual neuron function on slow timescales to temporal structure in the response at faster timescales, and uncover a straightforward purpose of fine-timescale features of neuronal spike trains.     

Network model of shape-from-shading: neural function arises from both receptive and projective fields

It is not known how the visual system is organized to extract information about shape from the continuous gradations of light and dark found on shaded surfaces of three-dimensional objects. To investigate this question, we used a learning algorithm to construct a neural network model which determines surface curvatures from images of simple geometrical surfaces. The receptive fields developed by units in the network were surprisingly similar to the actual receptive fields of neurons observed in the visual cortex which are commonly believed to be 'edge' or 'bar' detectors, but have never previously been associated with shading. Thus, our study illustrates the difficulty of trying to deduce neuronal function solely from determination of their receptive fields. It is also important to consider the connections a neuron makes with other neurons in subsequent stages of processing, which we call its 'projective field'.     

Attention modulates synchronized neuronal firing in primate somatosensory cortex

A potentially powerful information processing strategy in the brain is to take advantage of the temporal structure of neuronal spike trains. An increase in synchrony within the neural representation of an object or location increases the efficacy of that neural representation at the next synaptic stage in the brain; thus, increasing synchrony is a candidate for the neural correlate of attentional selection. We investigated the synchronous firing of pairs of neurons in the secondary somatosensory cortex (SII) of three monkeys trained to switch attention between a visual task and a tactile discrimination task. We found that most neuron pairs in SII cortex fired synchronously and, furthermore, that the degree of synchrony was affected by the monkey's attentional state. In the monkey performing the most difficult task, 35% of neuron pairs that fired synchronously changed their degree of synchrony when the monkey switched attention between the tactile and visual tasks. Synchrony increased in 80% and decreased in 20% of neuron pairs affected by attention.     

Gamma-band synchronization in visual cortex predicts speed of change detection

Our capacity to process and respond behaviourally to multiple incoming stimuli is very limited. To optimize the use of this limited capacity, attentional mechanisms give priority to behaviourally relevant stimuli at the expense of irrelevant distractors. In visual areas, attended stimuli induce enhanced responses and an improved synchronization of rhythmic neuronal activity in the gamma frequency band (40-70 Hz). Both effects probably improve the neuronal signalling of attended stimuli within and among brain areas. Attention also results in improved behavioural performance and shortened reaction times. However, it is not known how reaction times are related to either response strength or gamma-band synchronization in visual areas. Here we show that behavioural response times to a stimulus change can be predicted specifically by the degree of gamma-band synchronization among those neurons in monkey visual area V4 that are activated by the behaviourally relevant stimulus. When there are two visual stimuli and monkeys have to detect a change in one stimulus while ignoring the other, their reactions are fastest when the relevant stimulus induces strong gamma-band synchronization before and after the change in stimulus. This enhanced gamma-band synchronization is also followed by shorter neuronal response latencies on the fast trials. Conversely, the monkeys' reactions are slowest when gamma-band synchronization is high in response to the irrelevant distractor. Thus, enhanced neuronal gamma-band synchronization and shortened neuronal response latencies to an attended stimulus seem to have direct effects on visually triggered behaviour, reflecting an early neuronal correlate of efficient visuo-motor integration.     

Normal maturation involves systematic changes in binocular visual connections in Xenopus laevis

Systematic changes in neuronal connections have been observed during the development of many vertebrate neuronal systems. These changes have usually involved a refinement from an initial exuberance of connections or a response to some experimental perturbation. Here we report on a system of neuronal connections, which, during a protracted developmental period, undergo ordered changes in response to normally occurring changes in functional requirements. In the frog Xenopus laevis, interocular alignment changes markedly during late larval and post-metamorphic life, producing a progressive enlargement of the binocular portion of the visual field. An intertectal system links the two mid-brain optic tecta and is concerned with the neural representation of binocular visual space. In the adult animal, connections in this system link corresponding points (points receiving information from one locus of binocular visual space) on the two tecta. Changes in eye position with development, however, change the set of corresponding points. Therefore, if the intertectal connections link corresponding tectal points throughout development, they must undergo an ordered change with time. We present electrophysiological evidence that the intertectal connections do, indeed, undergo such changes in response to changes in eye alignment, and that the changes are major.     

Guarding the gateway to cortex with attention in visual thalamus

The massive visual input from the eye to the brain requires selective processing of some visual information at the expense of other information, a process referred to as visual attention. Increases in the responses of visual neurons with attention have been extensively studied along the visual processing streams in monkey cerebral cortex, from primary visual areas to parietal and frontal cortex. Here we show, by recording neurons in attending macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta), that attention modulates visual signals before they even reach cortex by increasing responses of both magnocellular and parvocellular neurons in the first relay between retina and cortex, the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). At the same time, attention decreases neuronal responses in the adjacent thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). Crick argued for such modulation of the LGN by observing that it is inhibited by the TRN, and suggested that "if the thalamus is the gateway to the cortex, the reticular complex might be described as the guardian of the gateway", a reciprocal relationship we now show to be more than just hypothesis. The reciprocal modulation in LGN and TRN appears only during the initial visual response, but the modulation of LGN reappears later in the response, suggesting separate early and late sources of attentional modulation in LGN.     

Color in machine vision and its application

Color is the phenomenon of human visual perception and the module of machine vision. Color information is widely used in the areas of virtual reality and human-computer interaction. Color is the product of a visual environment, illumination and the human brain. Research on color information representation and its processing is typically interdisciplinary. Based on our research work on human color perception and machine color vision and its application, we summarized the hotspots of color studies in recent developments and new approaches to color vision, including basic theories and the application of color information in virtual reality, content-based image retrieval, and face recognition.     

神经元网络同步放电的抗扰特性

为了揭示神经元网络在噪声环境下实现可靠信息处理的内在机制,利用神经元模型对噪声环境下神经元网络同步放电的抗扰特性进行数值计算和分析.给出了定量描述神经元网络放电同步程度和抗扰特性的评价指标,并研究了放电同步程度和抗扰特性间的内在联系.数值仿真结果表明,神经元数目和耦合强度对网络的同步和抗扰特性影响较大;在一定范围内,神经元放电同步程度与抗扰特性强弱间具有近似线性的内在联系.因此,神经元网络可以利用同步放电机制抑制噪声干扰,执行可靠的信息编码与处理.     

可视化和可视化分析学

可视化就是把数据、信息和知识转化为可视的表示形式的过程。一般来讲,可视化可分为数据可视化、科学计算可视化、信息可视化和知识可视化。可视化可以看做是人类与计算机这两个信息处理系统之间的一个接口单元。本文在给出可视化定义基础上,简要介绍了国际近年出现的可视化分析学情况,讨论了可视化在数据挖掘、复杂网络等领域的应用。最后指出了可视化研究存在的问题和重要发展方向。     

Dissecting a circuit for olfactory behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans

Although many properties of the nervous system are shared among animals and systems, it is not known whether different neuronal circuits use common strategies to guide behaviour. Here we characterize information processing by Caenorhabditis elegans olfactory neurons (AWC) and interneurons (AIB and AIY) that control food- and odour-evoked behaviours. Using calcium imaging and mutations that affect specific neuronal connections, we show that AWC neurons are activated by odour removal and activate the AIB interneurons through AMPA-type glutamate receptors. The level of calcium in AIB interneurons is elevated for several minutes after odour removal, a neuronal correlate to the prolonged behavioural response to odour withdrawal. The AWC neuron inhibits AIY interneurons through glutamate-gated chloride channels; odour presentation relieves this inhibition and results in activation of AIY interneurons. The opposite regulation of AIY and AIB interneurons generates a coordinated behavioural response. Information processing by this circuit resembles information flow from vertebrate photoreceptors to 'OFF' bipolar and 'ON' bipolar neurons, indicating a conserved or convergent strategy for sensory information processing.     

大鼠杏仁核在条件性恐惧视觉建立过程中的集群编码研究

研究了大鼠在条件性恐惧视觉建立过程中杏仁核对恐惧视觉信息的编码。首先,设计两种不同拓扑结构("十"和"O")图形,利用巴普洛夫条件反射原理建立大鼠条件性恐惧视觉联结,采用多通道神经信号采集系统采集恐惧视觉建立过程中的杏仁核神经元集群响应信号。然后,对神经元响应信号进行有效响应区间的自适应选取,分别采用神经元集群发放频率和集群熵研究条件性恐惧视觉建立的不同阶段杏仁核的集群编码,发现神经元集群在条件性恐惧建立后发放率、熵均有显著增加。最后,采用支持向量机构建条件性恐惧建立过程中不同恐惧水平的分类模型,验证两种编码的效果。结果表明集群熵编码包含更多的非线性信息和时空整合信息,能更有效地实现恐惧视觉建立过程中视觉信息的"恐惧"水平的表征,由此推测大鼠杏仁核神经核团是以集群的方式对恐惧信息进行编码的。     

Calbindin immunoreactivity alternates with cytochrome c-oxidase-rich zones in some layers of the primate visual cortex

Calcium ions have a pivotal role in many neuronal activities, but little is known about their involvement in the cortical processing of visual information. Using immunohistochemical methods, we have now detected a calcium-binding protein, calbindin-D-28K, which may confer on certain compartments of cortical area 17 the ability to modulate Ca2+ metabolism. Thus, calbindin occurs in the primate striate cortex in a pattern almost complementary to that displaying strong cytochrome c-oxidase activity. From this and other observations, we deduce that the distribution of calbindin-immunoreactive sites corresponds mainly to extra-geniculocortical connections of the primary visual cortex. This implies that the geniculocortical and extra-geniculocortical compartments of area 17 differ in an intracellular system for Ca2+ homeostasis.     

面向MOOC的知识可视化视觉表征与建模设计

针对MOOC学习缺乏深度的现象,提出了面向MOOC的知识可视化视觉表征与建模设计.剖析了MOOC学习缺乏深度的主要问题和信息加工的内在要求,厘清了知识可视化、表征、建模等基本概念;在借鉴了视觉传播取向和信息论视角的知识表征基础上,提出了面向MOOC的视觉表征框架;在此框架下,分别从语义、语用、语法信息三要素着手,阐释了具体的分析方法.在语义上,基于Bloom教学目标分类法确定知识的类型、提取过程和表征方法;在语用上,陈述了信息有效传达的基本原则;在语法上,介绍了具体的结构模型和可视化方法.实践证明,MOOC的学习者在表征框架下,能增强认知联结、拓展广度、增加深度,从而满足深度学习的诉求.     

Dynamic properties of neurons in cortical area MT in alert and anaesthetized macaque monkeys.

In order to see the world with high spatial acuity, an animal must sample the visual image with many detectors that restrict their analyses to extremely small regions of space. The visual cortex must then integrate the information from these localized receptive fields to obtain a more global picture of the surrounding environment. We studied this process in single neurons within the middle temporal visual area (MT) of macaques using stimuli that produced conflicting local and global information about stimulus motion. Neuronal responses in alert animals initially reflected predominantly the ambiguous local motion features, but gradually converged to an unambiguous global representation. When the same animals were anaesthetized, the integration of local motion signals was markedly impaired even though neuronal responses remained vigorous and directional tuning characteristics were intact. Our results suggest that anaesthesia preferentially affects the visual processing responsible for integrating local signals into a global visual representation.     

Gain control by layer six in cortical circuits of vision

After entering the cerebral cortex, sensory information spreads through six different horizontal neuronal layers that are interconnected by vertical axonal projections. It is believed that through these projections layers can influence each other's response to sensory stimuli, but the specific role that each layer has in cortical processing is still poorly understood. Here we show that layer six in the primary visual cortex of the mouse has a crucial role in controlling the gain of visually evoked activity in neurons of the upper layers without changing their tuning to orientation. This gain modulation results from the coordinated action of layer six intracortical projections to superficial layers and deep projections to the thalamus, with a substantial role of the intracortical circuit. This study establishes layer six as a major mediator of cortical gain modulation and suggests that it could be a node through which convergent inputs from several brain areas can regulate the earliest steps of cortical visual processing.     

国外运动视觉研究共引网络关键节点文献分析

运动视觉研究已经成为体育科学研究领域的一个新的热点,较早的相关研究始于美国。研究表明：视觉信息策略与运动成绩关系十分密切,运动视觉能力在体育运动中,特别是在技能性竞技运动（如网球、足球、羽毛球、击剑等）中起着重要的作用,对运动员的竞赛成绩有较大影响。通过对Web of Science下载运动视觉研究相关文献索引资料进行分析显示：现阶段国外运动视觉主要研究力量集中在欧美等发达国家,大学是运动视觉研究的主力军。对文献共引网络中关键节点文献分析显示：（1）专项运动能力（专业知识）是运动视觉的基础;（2）运动竞赛中选手的选择性预判能力是运动视觉水平的重要表现;（3）适度焦虑有利于运动视觉信息加工策略形成,促进运动视觉行为良好表现。