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From tunnel vision to a panorama of human perception

Objetivo

We often assume that normal vision means everyone sees the world in the same way. While the optics of the eye are broadly similar across individuals, neural processing varies widely, leading to striking differences in performance. Some people effortlessly detect hazards in their peripheral vision, while others miss them entirely. Although vision is among the most studied systems of the brain, there is still no unified theory that explains this variability, which points to a deeper organizing principle of perception.

Across individuals, a hidden gradient emerges, a previously unrecognized axis of perceptual organization that spans from feedforward (bottom-up encoding) to feedback (top-down inference) dominance within a shared cortical architecture. PANORAMA introduces the Incomplete Compensation Hypothesis, which explains this gradient as the outcome of an imbalance between feedforward and feedback processing. Far peripheral vision, where feedforward input is sparse and feedback must work hard, provides the ideal testbed for uncovering these mechanisms.

Guided by this framework, the project addresses four key questions:

1. To what extent do individuals differ in peripheral vision?
2. Are these differences driven by the eyes’ input, the brain’s interpretation, or both?
3. How are these behavioral signatures reflected in cortical architecture and laminar pathways?
4. How can they be reshaped through targeted manipulation and plasticity?

Resolving this will redefine how sensory neuroscience conceptualizes individual variability, shifting the field from treating perception as the average of feedforward and feedback processes to understanding how their balance gives rise to distinct perceptual outcomes. Often overlooked in the dominant theories of vision, the far periphery may now hold the key to understanding why perception varies across individuals, and with panoramic displays and ultra-high field MRI reaching maturity, it can finally be studied in full detail.

Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)

Palabras clave

Programa(s)

Tema(s)

Régimen de financiación

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Convocatoria de propuestas

(se abrirá en una nueva ventana) ERC-2026-STG

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Institución de acogida

UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 1 499 844,00
Dirección
MINDERBROEDERSBERG 4
6200 MD Maastricht
Países Bajos
Región
Zuid-Nederland Limburg (NL) Zuid-Limburg
Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 1 499 844,00

Beneficiarios (1)