The Active Vision and Neural Computation Lab

Research in the lab is broadly focused on how brains use vision to understand and move about the world.

Embodied vision

Vision necessarily depends on movement because the light sensor we use (the retina) is stuck to the back of the eyes, which are constantly moving. Because of these movements, most new visual sensory stimulation is a result self-motion (movement of the eyes and head). In the lab, we are interested in understanding how these movements are part of the neural code.

Approach

We approach our research questions by collaborating closely with neurophysiologists. We help design experiments and analyze neural data collected in other labs using high-resolution eye tracking. We also develop brain-inspired generative models and think about what it is that all brains are even doing.

Open positions and pre-requisites

There are no open positions, but I’m happy to chat about working together if you send me an email.

Current research topics

Active vision and generative models

All animals with image-forming eyes sample the workd with a “saccade and fixate” pattern of eye movements. Fixations are not snapshots. The eyes are never still, counter-rotating relative to body and/or head movements, and drifting during “fixations”, such that the input to the retina is better thought of as a spatiotemporal movie instead of a stable (or unstable) image. Our research aims to understand the algorithms the brain uses (in cortical visual areas) to utilize information that is generated by the motion of the eyes. To approach this, I use a combination of high-resolution eye-tracking and statistical models of both the visual input and neural activity in visual cortex.

Foveal Processing and eye movements

Humans see best at the very center center of their visual field. This “high-resolution” region is called the fovea and, among mammals, only primates have one. The primate fovea is a highly-specialized anatomical adaptation for high-resolution spatial vision and it differs substantially from the peripheral retina and the retinas of other mammals.


Latest Publications

Running modulates primate and rodent visual cortex via common mechanism but quantitatively distinct implementation

Liska JP
Rowley DP
Nguyen TTK
Muthmann J
Butts DA
Yates JL
Huk AC
Preprint 2022

A dynamic sequence of visual processing initiated by gaze shifts

Parker PRL
Martins DM
Leonard ESP
Casey NM
Sharp SL
Abe ETT
Smear EC
Yates JL
Mitchell JF
Niell CM
Preprint 2022

Activity in primate visual cortex is minimally driven by spontaneous movements

Talluri BC
Kang I
Lazere A
Quinn KR
Kaliss N
Yates JL
Butts DA
Nienborg H
Preprint 2022