Columbia University in the City of New York

Apr 8, 202510:30 am
Seminar

Columbia Neuroscience Seminars - Kristina Nielsen

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April 8th, 10:30 am – 11:30 am at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center (Kavli Auditorium, 9th floor Lecture Hall)

Kristina Nielsen, PhD

Associate Professor, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute and Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience

John Hopkins University

 

Host(s): Danique Jeurissen (Postdoc)

 

Development of motion vision

 

Processing of visual motion signals – both simple and complex – is a task of fundamental importance for the visual system. In primates and carnivores, motion computations are the domain of a dedicated network of visual areas spanning from primary visual cortex (V1) to higher visual areas. As for many visual functions, we currently have only very limited knowledge about how this network develops at the neural level, especially with respect to the higher visual areas. Not only is it necessary to fill this gap to build better models of normal visual development, motion vision in particular is often impaired in developmental disorders, and the source of this vulnerability is currently unclear. Ferrets have become an important animal model for development because of their early birth. Much of the work in ferrets to date has however focused on the development of early visual stages up to V1. We have recently demonstrated that ferret area PMLS is a higher motion area homologous to primate MT. Here, I will describe our recent work investigating the functional development of PMLS in comparison to V1. Our data show that – contrary to the expectation of a bottom-up developmental sequence – selectivity for motion direction develops in PMLS ahead of V1. We also find that PMLS direction selectivity development is sensitive to different visual cues than in V1, and can proceed without V1 input. This suggests significant independence in the development of different visual stages, and more generally highlights the need to study development at the network level.

 

Relevant Publications

Ferrents as a Model for Higher-Level Visual Motion Processing

Development of visual motion integration involves coordination of multiple cortical stages

 

Venue Information:

Speaker Location: Jerome L. Greene Science Center, Kavli Auditorium, 9th Floor Lecture Hall


The Columbia Neuroscience Seminars have been organized to help build community and collaboration among researchers interested in this broad field across campus. The in-person activities, including the talks, provide meaningful interactions for the speakers, many of whom have traveled a long way to visit Columbia. However, if you are a Columbia researcher on another campus and are unable to attend the talk at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, please email [email protected] at least 48 hours in advance to request an individual, one-time Zoom link (livestream only, no Q&A). 

 

If you have a short- or long-term accommodation request (medical issue, travel, other concerns, etc.), or any other questions, please also reach out to [email protected].

 

Tuesdays@10 is a signature Zuckerman Institute initiative that aims to expose researchers at all levels to high-quality science and stimulate scientific discourse. The speakers featured in this series represent various fields and techniques in neuroscience, and include invited guests of the Columbia Neuroscience Seminars, the Zuckerman Institute's Local Circuits Affiliates Program, and other special seminar series through a combined, collaborative effort of one or more of the following: Columbia's Zuckerman Institute, the Center for Precision Psychiatry, the Department of Neuroscience, the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior and the Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative, and with support from the Kavli Institute for Brain Science

 

More information and a full schedule can be found here.

 

Venue: the Jerome L. Greene Science Center (Kavli Auditorium, 9th floor Lecture Hall)
3227 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027

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