Optic Flow Neurons Research Articles

Sparse coding predicts optic flow specificities of zebrafish pretectal neurons

Zebrafish pretectal neurons exhibit specificities for large-field optic flow patterns associated with rotatory or translatory body motion. We investigate the hypothesis that these specificities reflect the input statistics of natural optic flow. Realistic motion sequences were generated using computer graphics simulating self-motion in an underwater scene. Local retinal motion was estimated with a motion detector and encoded in four populations of directionally tuned retinal ganglion cells, represented as two signed input variables. This activity was then used as input into one of three learning networks: a sparse coding network (competitive learning), PCA whitening with subsequent sparse coding, and a backpropagation network (supervised learning). All simulations developed specificities for optic flow which are comparable to those found in a neurophysiological study (Kubo et al. in Neuron 81(6):1344–1359, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.02.043), but relative frequencies of the various neuronal responses were best modeled by the sparse coding approach without whitening. We conclude that the optic flow neurons in the zebrafish pretectum do reflect the optic flow statistics. The predicted vectorial receptive fields show not only typical optic flow fields but also “Gabor” and dipole-shaped patterns that likely reflect difference fields needed for reconstruction by linear superposition.

Area PEc Neurons Use a Multiphasic Pattern of Activity to Signal the Spatial Properties of Optic Flow.

The cortical representation of visual perception requires the integration of several-signal processing distributed across many cortical areas, but the neural substrates of such perception are largely unknown. The type of firing pattern exhibited by single neurons is an important indicator of dynamic circuitry within or across cortical areas. Neurons in area PEc are involved in the spatial mapping of the visual field; thus, we sought to analyze the firing pattern of activity of PEc optic flow neurons to shed some light on the cortical processing of visual signals. We quantified the firing activity of 152 optic flow neurons using a spline interpolation function, which allowed determining onset, end, and latency of each neuronal response. We found that many PEc neurons showed multiphasic activity, which is strictly related to the position of the eye and to the position of the focus of expansion (FOE) of the flow field. PEc neurons showed a multiphasic activity comprised of excitatory phases interspersed with inhibitory pauses. This phasic pattern seems to be a very efficient way to signal the spatial location of visual stimuli, given that the same neuron sends different firing patterns according to a specific combination of FOE/eye position.

Optic flow neurons in area PEc integrate eye and head position signals

Neurons in area PEc, a visual area located in the superior parietal lobule, are activated by optic flow stimuli. An important issue is whether PEc neurons are able to integrate multimodal signals, such as those related to optic flow selectivity with those about eye and head position. The aim of this study was to assess if angle of gaze and/or head rotation modify the spatial representation of the focus of expansion (FOE), varying FOE, fixation point and head position in space. We found that the rotation of head modulated the firing activity of PEc optic flow neurons. The head position also changed the angle of gaze effect on the PEc neuronal activity. All recorded neurons showed a main interaction effect between head and eye position upon the selectivity for optic flow stimuli. These results seem to suggest that PEc optic flow neurons use different reference frames depending on the position of the eye and/or the head in space emphasizing a possible contribution of this area in guiding locomotion by integrating multiple extraretinal inputs.

Local and global responses of insect motion detectors to the spatial structure of natural scenes

As a consequence of the non-linear correlation mechanism underlying motion detection, the variability in local pattern structure and contrast inherent within natural scenes profoundly influences local motion responses. To accurately interpret optic flow induced by self-motion, neurons in many dipteran flies smooth this "pattern noise" by wide-field spatial integration. We investigated the role that size and shape of the receptive field plays in smoothing out pattern noise in two unusual hoverfly optic flow neurons: one (HSN) with an exceptionally small receptive field and one (HSNE) with a larger receptive field. We compared the local and global responses to a sequence of panoramic natural images in these two neurons with a parsimonious model for elementary motion detection weighted for their spatial receptive fields. Combined with manipulation of size and contrast of the stimulus images, this allowed us to separate spatial integration properties arising from the receptive field, from other local and global non-linearities, such as motion adaptation and dendritic gain control. We show that receptive field properties alone are poor predictors of the response to natural scenes. If anything, additional non-linearity enhances the pattern dependence of HSN's response, particularly to vertically elongated features, suggesting that it may serve a role in forward fixation during hovering.

Receptive-field structure of optic flow responsive Purkinje cells in the vestibulocerebellum of pigeons

Neurons sensitive to optic flow patterns have been recorded in the the olivo-vestibulocerebellar pathway and extrastriate visual cortical areas in vertebrates, and in the visual neuropile of invertebrates. The complex spike activity (CSA) of Purkinje cells in the vestibulocerebellum (VbC) responds best to patterns of optic flow that result from either self-rotation or self-translation. Previous studies have suggested that these neurons have a receptive-field (RF) structure that "approximates" the preferred optic flowfield with a "bipartite" organization. Contrasting this, studies in invertebrate species indicate that optic flow sensitive neurons are precisely tuned to their preferred flowfield, such that the local motion sensitivities and local preferred directions within their RFs precisely match the local motion in that region of the preferred flowfield. In this study, CSA in the VbC of pigeons was recorded in response to a set of complex computer-generated optic flow stimuli, similar to those used in previous studies of optic flow neurons in primate extrastriate visual cortex, to test whether the receptive field was of a precise or bipartite organization. We found that these RFs were not precisely tuned to optic flow patterns. Rather, we conclude that these neurons have a bipartite RF structure that approximates the preferred optic flowfield by pooling motion subunits of only a few different direction preferences.

Common reference frame for neural coding of translational and rotational optic flow.

Self-movement of an organism through the environment is guided jointly by information provided by the vestibular system and by visual pathways that are specialized for detecting 'optic flow'. Motion of any object through space, including the self-motion of organisms, can be described with reference to six degrees of freedom: rotation about three orthogonal axes, and translation along these axes. Here we describe neurons in the pigeon brain that respond best to optic flow resulting from translation along one of the three orthogonal axes. We show that these translational optic flow neurons, like rotational optic flow neurons, share a common spatial frame of reference with the semicircular canals of the vestibular system. The three axes to which these neurons respond best are the vertical axis and two horizontal axes orientated at 45 degrees to either side of the body midline.

Electrophysiology of medial terminal nucleus of accessory optic system in the cat.

ArticlesElectrophysiology of medial terminal nucleus of accessory optic system in the catK. L. Grasse, and M. S. CynaderK. L. GrasseSearch for more papers by this author, and M. S. CynaderSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:01 Aug 1982https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1982.48.2.490MoreSectionsPDF (3 MB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInWeChat Previous Back to Top Next Download PDF FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation Cited ByResponse properties of optic flow neurons in the accessory optic system of hummingbirds versus zebra finches and pigeonsAndrea H. Gaede,* Vikram B. Baliga,* Graham Smyth, Cristian Gutiérrez-Ibáñez, Douglas L. Altshuler, and Douglas R. Wylie4 January 2022 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 127, No. 1Neurons Responsive to Global Visual Motion Have Unique Tuning Properties in HummingbirdsCurrent Biology, Vol. 27, No. 2Question of Reference Frames: Visual Direction-Selective Neurons in the Accessory Optic System of GoldfishOlivia Andrea Masseck, and Klaus-Peter Hoffmann1 November 2009 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 102, No. 5Responses to Moving Visual Stimuli in Pretectal Neurons of the Small-Spotted Dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula)Olivia Andrea Masseck, and Klaus-Peter Hoffmann1 January 2008 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 99, No. 1Spatiotemporal Tuning of Optic Flow Inputs to the Vestibulocerebellum in Pigeons: Differences Between Mossy and Climbing Fiber PathwaysIan R. Winship, Peter L. Hurd, and Douglas R. W. Wylie1 March 2005 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 93, No. 3Asymmetric adaptive gain changes of the vertical vestibulo-ocular reflex in catsBrain Research, Vol. 1023, No. 2Telencephalic Input to the Pretectum of Pigeons: An Electrophysiological and Pharmacological Inactivation StudyNathan A. Crowder, Clayton T. Dickson, and Douglas R.W. Wylie1 January 2004 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 91, No. 1Connectivity of the turtle accessory optic systemBrain Research, Vol. 989, No. 1Temporal Frequency and Velocity-Like Tuning in the Pigeon Accessory Optic SystemNathan A. Crowder, Michael R.W. Dawson, and Douglas R.W. Wylie1 September 2003 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 90, No. 3The Accessory Optic System Contributes to the Spatio-Temporal Tuning of Motion-Sensitive Pretectal NeuronsNathan A. Crowder, Hugo Lehmann, Marise B. Parent, and Douglas R.W. Wylie1 August 2003 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 90, No. 2Direction Tuning of Inhibitory Inputs to the Turtle Accessory Optic SystemMichael Ariel, and Naoki Kogo1 December 2001 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 86, No. 6Membrane Properties and Monosynaptic Retinal Excitation of Neurons in the Turtle Accessory Optic SystemNaoki Kogo, and Michael Ariel1 August 1997 | Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 78, No. 2Positional disparity sensitivity of neurons in the cat accessory optic systemVision Research, Vol. 34, No. 13Central neuroanatomical organisation of the rat visuomotor systemProgress in Neurobiology, Vol. 41, No. 2Retinal direction-sensitive input to the accessory optic system: an in vitro approach with behavioral relevanceBrain Research, Vol. 522, No. 1The processing of object and self-motion in the tectofugal and accessory optic pathways of birdsVision Research, Vol. 30, No. 11The rat accessory optic system: effects of cortical lesions on the directional selectivity of units within the medial terminal nucleusNeuroscience Letters, Vol. 91, No. 2Latent defect in monocular optokinetic nystagmus after neonatal removal of the lateral suprasylvian area in the catBehavioural Brain Research, Vol. 27, No. 2The pretectal necleus of the optic tract modulates the direction selectivity of accessory optic neurons in ratsBrain Research, Vol. 419, No. 1-2Vertical and horizontal visual whole-field motion differently affect the metabolic activity of the rat medial terminal nucleusBrain Research, Vol. 412, No. 1The accessory optic system of the monocularly deprived catDevelopmental Brain Research, Vol. 31, No. 2Response properties of single units in the accessory optic system of the dark-reared catDevelopmental Brain Research, Vol. 27, No. 1Development of the avian accessory optic system: Effects of embryonic optic lesionsDevelopmental Brain Research, Vol. 20, No. 1A retino-mesotelencephalic pathway in the ratNeuroscience Letters, Vol. 53, No. 1Transection of the basal optic root in the frog abolishes vertical optokinetic head-nystagmusNeuroscience Letters, Vol. 43, No. 1A pretectal projection upon the accessory optic nucleus in the pigeon: An anatomical and electrophysiological studyNeuroscience Letters, Vol. 43, No. 1 More from this issue > Volume 48Issue 2August 1982Pages 490-504 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1982 the American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1982.48.2.490PubMed7119859History Published online 1 August 1982 Published in print 1 August 1982 Metrics