Impact of Retinal Stimulation on Neuromodulation
Yu Chen, Babak Kateb in Neurophotonics and Brain Mapping, 2017
The subcortical superior colliculus also is involved in spatial attention (Schneider and Kastner 2009). Studies have shown that the superior colliculus/pretectal area and the visual cortical areas are each affected by changes in light (Miller et al. 1998). The superior colliculus pathway is independent of the classic cone pathway of seeing (Leh et al. 2010). Yet, the superior colliculus is still responsive to colors (Zhang et al. 2015). Sensory systems interact with the basal ganglia (Prescott et al. 2006). A clinical trial demonstrated that patients given placebo glasses were not as effectively treated as those prescribed actual glasses with prisms (Bowers et al. 2014). In other words, varying the dispersion of light onto the retina affected the patients’ reactions. New research shows that prism glasses altering the “Where is it?” pathway by shifting apparent target location also have an effect on the “How am I?” chemical pathway.
Geometric Transformations in the Visual-Motor Interface for Saccades
Michael Fetter, Thomas Haslwanter, Hubert Misslisch, Douglas Tweed in Three-Dimensional Kinematics of Eye, Head and Limb Movements, 2020
Given this current state of information, the only thing definite is that the reference frame transformation and 2D to 3D transformation occur at some point between the retina and the reticular formation short-lead burst neurons, which utilize a head-fixed, craniotopic coordinate system (Crawford and Vilis, 1992; Crawford et al., this volume). This leaves several possibilities open, which I will discuss with respect to the most frequently studied visuomotor structure for saccades, the superior colliculus.
Brain Motor Centers and Pathways
Nassir H. Sabah in Neuromuscular Fundamentals, 2020
The superior colliculus is a layered, multi-sensory structure that receives inputs from the retina, the visual, parietal, and frontal cortices, as well as inputs from the auditory and somatosensory systems. The superior colliculus has a major ascending projection to the frontal cerebral cortex through the medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus. It projects to the nuclei controlling extraocular muscles that mediate eye movements, and to the cervical spinal cord through the tectospinal tract.
Vision Beyond Vision: Lessons Learned from Amblyopia
Published in Journal of Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility, 2023
Agnes M.F. Wong
To explain the impairment of auditory localization in amblyopia, we reviewed the literature, which reveals two crucial pieces of information: the role of the superior colliculus in the developmental calibration of the auditory map and the anatomical arrangement of the retinocollicular pathway. First, in several classic experiments using barn owls, vision has been found to calibrate sound localization during early development.50–52 Two structures in the dorsal midbrain are involved – the superior colliculus that contains a retinotopically-organized visual map and the inferior colliculus that contains a spatially-organized auditory map. During development, vision guides sound localization so that the auditory map in the inferior colliculus is aligned with the visual map in the superior colliculus. However, after the barn owls have been raised wearing prisms, the auditory map in the inferior colliculus is realigned with the optically-displaced visual map in the superior colliculus.
Spatial neglect treatment: The brain’s spatial-motor Aiming systems
Published in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2022
A. M. Barrett, Kelly M. Goedert, Alexandre R. Carter, Amit Chaudhari
Damage to subcortical structures has also been associated with spatial Aiming bias. In the same study of the neural correlates of directional hypokinesia that implicated frontal lobe regions, Sapir et al. (2007) also reported a strong association of this bias with damage of the ventral lateral putamen and claustrum, and speculated that this might result in a disruption of subcortical dopaminergic neurotransmission which can play an important role in spatial cognition as discussed above (Sapir et al., 2007). Another subcortical structure, the mammalian superior colliculus (SC) is a major hub of sensorimotor integration and neurons in deep layers of the SC are crucial to the generation of contraversive saccadic eye movements (Robinson, 1972). In addition, the SC has other motoric functions (Gandhi & Katnani, 2011), including multiple classes of neurons that are active prior to and during arm movements, and which may contribute to the control of visually-guided movements (Lunenburger et al., 2001).
Hormones and visual attention to sexual stimuli in older men: an exploratory investigation
Published in The Aging Male, 2021
Jaime L. Palmer-Hague, Samantha T. S. Wong, Richard J. Wassersug, Alan Kingstone, Erik Wibowo
Importantly, our preliminary finding that E2 positively predicts visual attention to sexual images in older men suggests that, in the context of male sexual behavior, E2 may influence early, rapid, and involuntary attentional responses to relevant stimuli. Although the precise neurobiological mechanisms for this effect remain unclear, one possibility is that E2 works by activating estrogen receptors in brain regions that process visual information. In rodents, estrogen receptors are present in brain regions involved in visual processing, such as the superior colliculus [19,20]. In addition, the superior colliculus is known to play a role in visual attention and fixation [21]. Considering that various brain centers for male sexual behavior (e.g. preoptic area, medial amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) are rich in estrogen receptors [35], there may be a potential connection (direct or indirect) between these regions and brain centers that process visual input. However, we are unaware of any studies that have documented such connectivity in humans, leaving this area open for future investigation.