Objective
In Europe 30M people are visually impaired (VI), 2.5M of which are entirely blind. Despite many efforts on the societal level, VIs are still ‘left in the dark’, when it comes to independent navigation. Neuroscience has the long-term potential to provide brain-prostheses, which circumvent damaged parts of the visual system. In the present project, we will investigate how spatial information can assist VIs during navigation by non-invasive and invasive information delivery.
We will make use of multisensory integration and optogenetic stimulation to investigate these questions in an animal model of navigation in the dark. Mice use their sensory hairs (‘whiskers’) analogous to how VIs use their cane for exploring their local surroundings. During this tactile navigation VIs also utilize the sound generated by their cane to provide both spatial and material information about their surroundings, evidence for a multisensory strategy.
Specifically we will first investigate the effect of multisensory information on the neural representation of tactile information during natural exploratory behaviour. For this purpose we will provide sounds rapidly (<1ms) in sync with each surface contact of the whisker. These sounds are modulated by the animal’s distance to the object or will provide contextually relevant spatial information (e.g. distant targets). We predict that even soft auditory information will boost the usefulness of tactile information (‘inverse effectiveness’) and allow faster behavioural judgments in a spatial task. Next, we will provide spatial information directly to the tactile cortex using optogenetic stimulation, emulating the functioning of future, spatial brain prostheses. We predict that animals will learn to integrate this additional information to optimize their navigation success.
In summary, our research will contribute to providing navigation information to VIs non-invasively and invasively, and thus further the ongoing efforts of inclusion in Europe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology implants
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology
- social sciences social geography transport navigation systems
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6525 XZ Nijmegen
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.