Effects of gloss-selective cell activity on gloss perception

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K21587
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cognitive science; Kansei informatics
• Research Institution: National Institute for Physiological Sciences (2016-2017, 2019); Tamagawa University (2018)
• Principal Investigator: Nishio Akiko (西尾亜希子) 生理学研究所, 研究力強化戦略室, 特任助教 (20750491)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 光沢知覚 / マルチユニット記録 / 下側頭皮質 / 質感 / 神経科学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to reveal how gloss information is processed in the brain. The inferior-temporal cortex contains gloss-selective areas where cells that respond selectively to specific gloss are concentrated. However, the causal relationship between the activity of such gloss-selective areas and the perception of gloss at the individual level was unknown. We found that the perception of gloss in monkeys was affected when the neural activity was artificially manipulated by electrical stimulation or drug injection.This study succeeded in showing the causal relationship between the activity of gloss-selective area and the perception of gloss at the individual level.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

物体の光沢感は物体の表面状態や素材、新鮮さ等を知るために重要な特性の一つであり、工業や産業界からの関心も高い。しかし、光沢情報が脳内でどのように処理されているかについての神経生理学的な研究はほどんど行われてこなかった。我々の先行研究から、サル下側頭皮質には光沢の情報を表現する細胞（光沢選択性細胞）が存在することが分かっているが、光沢知覚との因果関係は不明であった。本研究では電気刺激や薬物注入などの手法を用い、サル下側頭皮質の光沢選択性細胞の活動と光沢知覚の因果関係を明らかにした。