# Neural mechanisms of visual sensitivity

> **NIH NIH R01** · SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES · 2021 · $466,570

## Abstract

Abstract
 One of the most important questions in neuroscience today concerns the mechanisms by which sensory
neurons give rise to perceptual experience. There are many ways to address this question, which have long
populated the field of visual neuroscience. Prominent among them is the study of visual selectivity. Observers
are highly sensitive to some visual stimuli and less sensitive to others. Visual neurons are also highly
selective: Each responds to a limited range of stimuli along several stimulus dimensions. The proposed
research aims to understand how the selective pattern of neuronal responses accounts for the observer’s
selective perceptual experience and discriminative capacity.
 This understanding will be achieved through experiments that first evaluate patterns of neuronal selectivity
for visual stimuli that vary in their spatial and temporal properties. Second, these data, in combination with
manipulations of stimulus context, will be used to develop a novel mechanistic account of neuronal selectivity
based on activity within cortical visual circuits stabilized by inhibition. Finally, to understand how neuronal
selectivity underlies perceptual experience, direct comparisons will be made between physiological measures
of neuronal selectivity and behavioral measures of perceptual selectivity, assessed concurrently under identical
conditions.
 The proposed research constitutes a richly interwoven collection of psychophysical, neurophysiological and
theoretical approaches to understanding of spatial and temporal vision. The experiments will yield an
unprecedented body of comprehensive data regarding the spatiotemporal tuning of the primate visual system.
These data will be used to further understanding of the mechanisms of sensory processing and will provide
insights into pathologies of vision caused by trauma, disease and developmental disorders of the brain.
!

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10092171
- **Project number:** 5R01EY029117-03
- **Recipient organization:** SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS D ALBRIGHT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $466,570
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10092171

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10092171, Neural mechanisms of visual sensitivity (5R01EY029117-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10092171. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*