# Parieto-collicular interactions during perceptual decisions

> **NIH NIH F31** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2021 · $36,419

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
Higher cognitive processing relies on the ability to reason about and act on information that is accumulated over
time. An understanding of these functions at the level of neural mechanism will inspire new approaches to treat
a variety of disorders affecting sensation, thought, and action. The neurobiology of perceptual decision-making
offers a window on the neural mechanisms that support these functions. It has identified a network of brain
regions in monkeys thought to be involved in accumulating sensory evidence over time and transforming this
evidence into a relevant action, particularly when the action is an eye movement. This proposal focuses on two
highly interconnected areas within this network—the superior colliculus (SC) and the lateral intraparietal area
(LIP)—and the ways in which they interact to support perceptual decisions. LIP has been studied extensively in
the context of perceptual decision-making and is known to represent the temporal integration of sensory
evidence. Much less is known about the roles that other areas in the network play in the decision process. In
addition, a critical gap in knowledge is how LIP cooperates with and depends on these other areas to form and
terminate perceptual decisions. The aims of this proposal combine highly controlled behavior, multi-area
recordings, and inactivations to clarify the role of SC in the decision process and generate insights into how SC
and LIP cooperate. Aim 1 compares decision-related activity in SC and LIP directly in the same decisions.
Simultaneous multi-channel neural recordings from these two areas will reveal the signals present in SC and will
allow me to determine whether they are similar to or fundamentally different from those in LIP. Aim 2 uses causal
methods to investigate how decisions and signals in LIP depend on SC activity. The experiment involves
unilateral inactivation of SC and simultaneous multi-channel recordings in LIP. The results will elucidate the
contribution of SC activity to the decision process. They will also constrain the neural circuits that could give rise
to the decision-related signals observed in Aim 1. Together, these aims represent an important step toward
understanding how networks of brain areas support the ability to reason about and act on information.
 This proposal was tailored to both exploit my extensive training in vision science and develop new skills
that will be invaluable to my goal of becoming an independent scientist studying higher brain function. Dr. Michael
Shadlen, a leading expert in the neurobiology of perceptual decision-making, is the ideal sponsor for this
research. Finally, the rich scientific environment fostered by the Zuckerman Institute and the Neurobiology and
Behavior graduate program at Columbia will further enhance my growth as a scientist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10235246
- **Project number:** 1F31EY032791-01
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Gabriel M Stine
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $36,419
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-01-16 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10235246

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10235246, Parieto-collicular interactions during perceptual decisions (1F31EY032791-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10235246. Licensed CC0.

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