Exploration of neural mechanisms underlying visual stability

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25240022
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cognitive science
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: KITAZAWA Shigeru 大阪大学, 生命機能研究科, 教授 (00251231)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KUMANO Hironori 大阪大学, 生命機能研究科, 特任助教 (40568325) ; UCHIMURA Motoaki 大阪大学, 生命機能研究科, 特別研究員 (30750947) ; NAKANO Tamami 大阪大学, 生命機能研究科, 准教授 (90589201) ; TAKAHASHI Toshimitsu 大阪大学, 生命機能研究科, 助教 (00250704) ; SARUWATARI Masanori 大阪大学, 医学系研究科, 助教 (90452309) ; INOUE Masato 国立研究開発法人情報通信研究機構, 脳情報通信融合研究センター脳情報通信融合研究室, 研究員 (10423047) ; UKA Takanori 山梨大学, 総合研究部, 教授 (50372933)
• Research Collaborator: CHAKRABARTY Mrinmoy 大阪大学, 医学系研究科
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 視覚安定性 / 外部座標系 / 背景座標系 / 楔前部 / プリズム順応

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Our eyes move 3 times a second, yet our perception does not see a moving world. How our brain interprets our environment this way is a fundamental problem that had been questioned for centuries by great philosophers like Descartes. We have hypothesized that the brain stabilizes the visual world using the background scenery as the reference. The current study aimed to test this hypothesis, and have examined 1) human and monkey behavior, 2) human brain activity, and 3) monkey neural activity. We have been successful in showing that the background coordinate is actually used by the brain for controlling eye and hand movements and have provided evidence that the background coordinate is implemented in the precuneus that serves as an important hub that interconnects many regions in the cortical networks.

Free Research Field

認知神経科学