Research Project 2 - Internal state dynamics of primate perception and decision-making Lead: Eyal Seidemann PhD Project Summary The overarching goal of RP2 is to understand how neural circuits in primate primary visual cortex (V1) interact with other brain regions to give rise to behavioral performance in demanding visual discrimination tasks. We will develop and use an unprecedented array of experimental tools for simultaneously reading and writing neural population responses at multiple spatial scales in behaving macaque cortex. Our end goal is to develop and test quantitative and mechanistic computational models that can account for (1) the encoding of external inputs (visual or optogenetic) by dynamic V1 population responses, (2) the decoding of V1 responses to external stimuli by neural populations in key downstream decision/motor areas that mediate behavior, and (3) the interplay between spontaneous variations in V1 activity that are related to fluctuating internal states and their impact on stimulus encoding and decoding. Together, our experimental and computational work will provide novel insights into the mechanisms that mediate complex, naturalistic, perceptually guided behaviors in the NHP brain.