Our research aims to investigate the neural mechanisms through which visual perception interacts with motor control. We employ techniques for monitoring and focally perturbing neural activity to understand the functional contribution of individual brain circuits in coordinating perception and action. Besides clarifying our understanding of the sense of vision, our research also sheds light on how neural activity that is distributed across multiple brain areas is organized to support behavior.
| Role and Genesis of Microsaccades |
Through the use of single-neuron recording, reversible inactivation of subsets of neuronal populations, and computer simulations, we have discovered a crucial component of the brain mechanism for generating microsaccades. |
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| Perception and Eye Movements |
High-resolution vision in humans is only limited to a small area of the visual field. Despite this, humans have the perception of a vivid, clear scene throughout the visual field, and this is because humans are active observers. One of our goals is to understand how eye movements support such clear, stable percepts. |
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| Visual Attention and Eye Movements |
Related to the interplay between perception and eye movements is an equally important interaction between attention and eye movements. Our lab investigates the neural mechanisms that underlie such interaction. |
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We are participating in the annual Primate Neurobiology Meeting that is taking place this year in Tuebingen (March 2012).
Our research was featured in the November/December 2011 issue of Scientific American Mind magazine
New paper published in the Journal of Neurophysiology (Vol. 107, No. 7, pp. 1904-1916, 2012)
New paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience (Vol. 31, No. 43, 2011)
Platform presentation on microsaccades by Ziad Hafed at the 2011 Gordon Research Conference on the Oculomotor System (Maine, USA)
