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Do cortical feedback connections store statistical knowledge of the environment?

Objective

Perception is shaped both by sensory information and internal variables. Our brain uses regularities of environmental factors to make predictions, and combines them with sensory stimuli to form percepts. However, where and how the statistical knowledge of the environment is stored and learned remains unexplored. Visual perception arises from a set of hierarchically-organized cortical areas, with abundant feedback connections from higher to lower areas. In this proposal, I will test if knowledge of the world is stored in the connectional specificity of feedback projections. I hypothesize that the tuning-specific wiring pattern of feedback projections terminating in mouse primary visual cortex (V1) reflects spatiotemporal statistics of the visual environment. To do so, I will first assess the role of sensory experience in feedback wiring. I will visually-deprive mice or raise them in artificial environments with altered visual statistics. Using a novel combination of dual-color optical recordings, I will measure how connectional specificity of functionally characterized feedback axons in V1 relates to the animal’s visual experience. I will also determine if spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal activity are sufficient for establishing the wiring organization. Shedding light on the enigmatic role of feedback connections will also provide a mechanistic description of how internal factors shape perception. The specific deficits in feedback function could have a potential bearing on behavioral disorders like schizophrenia in which patients manifest a difficulty in learning and representing behaviorally relevant percepts when the selection of relevant information is determined by prior knowledge. Thus, this work will not only be imperative for a better understanding of how prior knowledge influence perception, but also for getting a deeper insight into brain disorders.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

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Coordinator

FUNDACAO D. ANNA DE SOMMER CHAMPALIMAUD E DR. CARLOS MONTEZ CHAMPALIMAUD
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 148 635,60
Address
AVENIDA BRASILIA, CENTRO DE INVESTIGACAO DA FUNDACAO CHAMPALIMAUD
1400-038 LISBOA
Portugal

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Total cost

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.

€ 148 635,60
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