(Press-News.org) NASHVILLE, Tenn.—A brain area known to play a critical role in vision is divided into compartments that respond separately to different colors and orientations, Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered. The findings have important implications for furthering our understanding of perception and attention.
The research was published Nov. 14, 2010, in Nature Neuroscience.
"In vision, objects are defined by both their shape and their surface properties, such as color and brightness. For example, to identify a red apple, your visual system must process both the shape of the apple and its color," Anna Roe, professor of psychology and co-author of the new research, said. "Our study showed that in V4, which is a brain area that plays a role in visual object recognition, there is significant segregation of color/brightness and shape processing regions.
"We also found that processing regions come in different flavors," she continued. "There are color processing domains, for example, for purple, green and yellow. Shape processing domains come with preference for different orientations, such as horizontal or vertical. This is a functional segregation that has never been seen before in V4."
The researchers made their discovery by examining V4 in awake macaque monkeys. V4 was already known to play a key role in shape and color perception, but uncertainty about its organization has led to debates among researchers about the overall role it plays in vision.
"One reason this segregation is important relates to visual attention. For example, in your multicolored world, you can easily pick out a purple object if you're looking for it. How does your brain direct your attention to only purple? The fact that there are purple domains in V4 that are distinct from green or yellow domains gives us a handle on the specificity with which we can focus our attention," Roe said. "These domain-based ideas about how attention is implemented in the brain are exciting directions that we are currently investigating."
The researchers speculate the compartmentalization may reflect groups of neurons that are processing more complex aspects of color and form, such as integrating different contours that are the same color, to achieve overall shape perception.
Though V4 is segregated, the different areas do work together to process information.
"Functional segregation does not mean that shape and surface information do not interact. What it means is that there are distinct circuits for color vs. shape," Roe said.
The researchers obtained their data by using novel imaging methods that will open up new ways of studying cognitive functions such as attention and memory and new ways to study behavior. The team is the first to be able to obtain images that allow the viewer to see the different cortical organizations in awake, behaving monkeys.
INFORMATION:
Hisashi Tanigawa, research associate in the Department of Psychology, was the paper's lead author. Haidong D. Lu, now a researcher at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Science, was a co-author.
Grants from the National Institutes of Health, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center and Vanderbilt University Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience supported the research.
END
SAN DIEGO — New research is providing a deeper understanding of how individual actions — such as exercising, sensory stimulation, or drinking — influence brain health and outcomes. This new knowledge could ultimately lead to interventions in age-related cognitive declines, drug abuse, stroke, and brain injury, separate from or in combination with traditional pharmacological approaches. These findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
Specifically, ...
SAN DIEGO —Two experimental brain-machine technologies — deep brain stimulation coupled with physical therapy and a thought-controlled computer system—may offer new therapies for people with stroke and brain injuries, new human research shows. In addition, an animal study shows a new artificial retina may restore vision better than existing prosthetics. The findings were announced today at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
Brain-machine interface is an emerging ...
SAN DIEGO —New animal research has identified factors, such as the stress response and immune system, that may play important roles in depression. Scientists have also found that the regulation of nerve cell signals influences depression in animals, and that new drug combinations may more effectively treat it. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
Depression is a common mental disorder that affects more than 121 million people worldwide, ...
SAN DIEGO —New research released today shows teenagers respond differently to drugs than adults and explores the long-lasting effects of drug use on brain development. One study shows people who start using drugs at a young age have greater cognitive shortfalls, including mental flexibility. Animal studies also suggest adolescents are more susceptible to lower doses of cocaine, are willing to work more for a cocaine "fix" than adults, and are at risk of developing compromised stress responses. The research findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the Society for Neuroscience's ...
The landform known as a drumlin, created when the ice advanced during the Ice Age, can also be produced by today's glaciers. This discovery, made by researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has just been published in the scientific journal Geology.
Drumlins generally consist of an accumulation of glacial debris – till – and are found in areas that were covered by ice sheet. As the ice advanced, it moved rocks, gravel and sand and created tear-shaped raised ridges running parallel with the movement of the ice.
"Until now, scientists have been divided on ...
FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE Fla. ---- A Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researcher has announced a breakthrough discovery to block a protein that can contribute to heart failure.
His discovery will appear in an upcoming issue of the prestigious medical journal, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Anastasios Lymperopoulos, Ph.D., an NSU College of Pharmacy assistant professor of pharmacology, has discovered a novel method, using gene therapy, to block the actions of a gene-encoded protein.
That protein, known as beta-arrestin 1, causes an increase of aldosterone ...
San Diego - Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) say brain scans show that a gene nominally linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) leads to increased interference by brain regions associated with mind wandering during mental tasks.
Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, these researchers believe their findings are the first to show, through brain scanning, the differences in brain network relationships between individuals with this particular form of gene and others with a different form.
"Our goal ...
Treatment that included early surgical procedures to open blocked arteries resulted in better blood flow to the heart than aggressive medical treatment alone in patients with both diabetes and heart disease, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.
Previously, researchers in BARI 2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) found that over five years there were no fewer deaths and heart attacks in people who had medical treatment along with prompt vessel-opening surgery (revascularization) than ...
A less invasive procedure for treating a congenital heart defect in children is a safe alternative to traditional surgery with no five-year difference in risk of death and is associated with a 62 percent reduced risk for neurological events (such as strokes or seizures), according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.
In a study of 580 children with secundum atrial septal defect (ASD), researchers evaluated the long-term safety and effectiveness of transcatheter closure versus traditional surgery. Transcatheter closure is a ...
Fat cells — liposuctioned from a patient's belly — can safely boost heart function after a heart attack, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010.
"The study suggests that these cells can be safely obtained and infused inside the hearts of patients following an acute heart attack," said Eric (HJ) Duckers, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the small study and head of Molecular Cardiology Laboratory at the Thoraxcenter, Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The treatment reduced the amount ...