protocolSection identificationModule nctId: NCT06281457, orgStudyIdInfo id: 5-24-0030: 2.1, secondaryIdInfos id: R01EY035300, type: NIH, link: https://reporter.nih.gov/quickSearch/R01EY035300, briefTitle: Probing the Role of Feature Dimension Maps in Visual Cognition: Impact of Task Demands (Expt 2.1), statusModule overallStatus: RECRUITING, startDateStruct date: 2024-04, primaryCompletionDateStruct date: 2024-05, completionDateStruct date: 2024-05, studyFirstPostDateStruct date: 2024-02-28, lastUpdatePostDateStruct date: 2024-04-18, sponsorCollaboratorsModule leadSponsor name: University of California, Santa Barbara, class: OTHER, collaborators name: National Eye Institute (NEI), descriptionModule briefSummary: How does one know what to look at in a scene? Imagine a "Where's Waldo" game - it's challenging to find Waldo because there are many 'salient' locations in the picture, each vying for one's attention. One can only attend to a small location on the picture at a given moment, so to find Waldo, one needs to direct their attention to different locations. One prominent theory about how one accomplishes this claims that important locations are identified based on distinct feature types (for example, motion or color), with locations most unique compared to the background most likely to be attended. An important component of this theory is that individual feature dimensions (again, color or motion) are computed within their own 'feature maps', which are thought to be implemented in specific brain regions. However, whether and how specific brain regions contribute to these feature maps remains unknown.The goal of this study is to determine how brain regions that respond strongly to different feature types (color and motion) and which encode spatial locations of visual stimuli transform 'feature dimension maps' based on stimulus properties as a function of task instructions. The investigators hypothesize that feature-selective brain regions act as neural feature dimension maps, and thus encode representations of relevant location(s) based on their preferred feature dimension, such that the stimulus representation in the most relevant feature map is up-regulated to support adaptive behavior. The investigators will scan healthy human participants using functional MRI (fMRI) in a repeated-measures design while they view visual stimuli made relevant based on a cued feature dimension (e.g., color or motion). The investigators will employ state-of-the-art multivariate analysis techniques that allow them to reconstruct an 'image' of the stimulus representation encoded by each brain region to dissect how neural tissue identifies salient locations. Each participant will perform a challenging discrimination task based on the cued feature (report motion direction or color of stimulus dots) of a stimulus presented in the periphery, which are identical across trial types. Across trials the investigators will manipulate the attended feature value (color, motion, or fixation point). This manipulation will help the investigators fully understand these critical relevance computations in the healthy human visual system., conditionsModule conditions: Basic Science: Visual Attention in Healthy Participants, conditions: Basic Science: Neural Representations of Location, designModule studyType: INTERVENTIONAL, phases: NA, designInfo allocation: NA, interventionModel: SINGLE_GROUP, interventionModelDescription: This is a basic science study in which all participants will participate in all task conditions within each experiment (repeated-measures design)., primaryPurpose: BASIC_SCIENCE, maskingInfo masking: NONE, maskingDescription: Participants will typically be unaware of the conditions presented, though because these involve manipulations of stimuli or task demands, they may be aware of the manipulation. This is not expected to impact the primary outcome measures (e.g., BOLD signal activation patterns)., enrollmentInfo count: 10, type: ESTIMATED, armsInterventionsModule interventions name: Stimulus properties: task-defining feature, outcomesModule primaryOutcomes measure: Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI signal, primaryOutcomes measure: Gaze position, primaryOutcomes measure: Behavioral response (button press), eligibilityModule sex: ALL, minimumAge: 18 Years, maximumAge: 55 Years, stdAges: ADULT, contactsLocationsModule locations facility: University of California, Santa Barbara, status: RECRUITING, city: Santa Barbara, state: California, zip: 93117, country: United States, contacts name: Melodie Blakemore, role: CONTACT, phone: 805-893-4286, email: blakemore@research.ucsb.edu, contacts name: Tommy C Sprague, PhD, role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, geoPoint lat: 34.42083, lon: -119.69819, hasResults: False