title: A model for encoding multiple object motions and self-motion in area MST of primate visual cortex.
abstract: Many cells in the dorsal part of the medial superior temporal (MST) region of visual cortex respond selectively to specific combinations of expansion/contraction, translation, and rotation motions. Previous investigators have suggested that these cells may respond selectively to the flow fields generated by self-motion of an observer. These patterns can also be generated by the relative motion between an observer and a particular object. We explored a neurally constrained model based on the hypothesis that neurons in MST partially segment the motion fields generated by several independently moving objects. Inputs to the model were generated from sequences of ray-traced images that simulated realistic motion situations, combining observer motion, eye movements, and independent object motions. The input representation was based on the response properties of neurons in the middle temporal area (MT), which provides the primary input to area MST. After applying an unsupervised optimization technique, the units became tuned to patterns signaling coherent motion, matching many of the known properties of MST cells. The results of this model are consistent with recent studies indicating that MST cells primarily encode information concerning the relative three-dimensional motion between objects and the observer.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California 92186-5800, USA.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Zemel
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Sejnowski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011323:Primates / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology