SaccSuppr_2te

Saccadic suppression: from zebrafish to primates

01/02/2027 to 01/02/2027

Active sensing is the mode of operation for most behaving organisms. While there are a multitude of computational advantages to active sensing, moving the sensor, such as the eyes, invariably introduces complexities in the processing of input sensory streams. Here, we study the robust phenomenon that visual processing is strongly altered around the time of rapid saccades. During "saccadic suppression", detection thresholds for brief visual stimulus presentations are dramatically elevated. Although this phenomenon has long been observed, its mechanisms and origins remain unclear. We will approach this phenomenon from the perspective of evolutionary convergence and optimization, and we will do so by studying two organisms at two opposite ends of the evolutionary spectrum: zebrafish and non-human primates. Our results will demonstrate a functional-level convergence of the optic tectum and the superior colliculus and showcase the performance limits of vision. The transformative aspect of our proposal is that we will study active vision in zebrafish, and that we will use the experimental accessibility in the fish optic tectum and its evolutinarily more ancient brain to clarify long-lasting debates about the involvement of the mammalian superior colliculus in similar phenomena.