Source: http://www.psy.vanderbilt.edu/faculty/Casagrande/CasagrandeLab/vivien.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 00:27:53+00:00

Document:
The overall goal of this research is to understand how the visual thalamus and cortex interact to construct our perceptual world.
The first project explores the unconventional proposal that the primary sensory information received by the visual cortex from the visual thalamus [e.g., the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)] is not purely visual but rather visual information, primed by inputs from other sensory modalities. In this project, we hypothesize that the primate brain achieves fast and accurate decision-making in part due to its ability to focus, right from the beginning, on relevant aspects of inputs from all sense organs without appreciating all the details presented by each sense organ. Our specific hypothesis is that auditory and visual information are combined in a task dependent manner in the visual thalamus before this message is processed in cortex.
In a second project, we test the hypothesis that all thalamic nuclei contain some cell groups that act as drivers (send the main message) and some that act as modulators for multiple cortical areas, thus mediating the generation of an array of diverse cortical functions. The thalamus is not simply a passive relay to cortex. Instead, just as primary visual cortex (V1) depends on LGN, the secondary visual area (V2) and the middle temporal visual area (MT) depend on a combination of dedicated pathways through the thalamus (e.g., pulvinar) and direct feedforward connections from V1.This arrangement allows new properties to emerge at both the thalamic and cortical levels through dynamic loops.
A third project focuses on communication between cells in different areas of visual cortex and examines how visual messages are coded and transmitted from lower to higher visual areas and what the role of feedback is in this process.
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO B.A. 1964 Psychol./Biol.
Duke University, Durham, NC Ph.D. 1972 Physiol. Psych.
Editorial Consultant for: Science, J. Comparative and Physiological Psychology, Physiology & Behavior, Neuroscience, J. Neuroscience, J. Neurophysiology, Vision Research, Develop. Brain Research, Brain Research Bulletin, Brain Research, Behavioral and Brain Science, Laboratory Animal Science, Brain Behavior and Evolution, Journal of MedicalPrimatology, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Psychological Bulletin,Current Eye Research, Visual Neuroscience, Cerebral Cortex, Physiology and Behavior; Laboratory Animal Science, Anatomical Record, Trends in Neuroscience, PNAS, Experimental Brain Research, Nature; J. Neurocytology, J. Physiology, Lasers in Surgery & Medicine.
Jiang, Y., Purushothaman G. and Casagrande. V.A. (2015) The Functional Asymmetry of ON and OFF Channels in the Perception of Contrast. Journal of Neurophysiology. Vol. 114 no. 5, 2816-2829; PMCID: PMC4737415.
Jiang, Y., Yampolsky, D., Casagrande, V.A. and Purushothaman, G. (2015) Perceptual Decision Related Activity in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN). Journal of Neurophysiology, J Neurophysiol, 114(1), 717-35, 2015.
Purushothaman, G., Chen, X., Yampolsky, D. and Casagrande, V.A. (2014) Neural mechanisms of coarse-to-fine discrimination in the visual cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology,112:2822-2833. PCMCID: PMC4254879.
Ichida, J.M., Mavity-Hudson, J.A. and Casagrande, V.A. (2014) Distinct patterns of corticogeniculate feedback to different layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). NIHMSID 666822, Eye and Brain, 6:57-73.
Shostak, Y., Wenger, A.E., Mavity-Hudson, J.A. and Casagrande, V.A. (2014) Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) shows different patterns of localization within the parallel visual pathways in macaque and squirrel monkeys. NIHMSID 666829, Eye and Brain, 6:29-43.
Purushothaman, G. and Casagrande, V.A. (2013) A generalized ideal observer model for decoding sensory neural responses. Frontiers in Psychology, DOI: 10.3389/ fpsyg.2013.00617. PCMID: PMC3786228.
Li, K., Patel, J., Purushothaman, G., Marion, R. and Casagrande, V. A. (2013). Retinotopic maps in the pulvinar of bush baby (Otolemur garnettii) Journal of Comparative Neurology,521: 3432-3450. PCMID: PMC3775912.
Marion, R., Purushothaman, G., Jiang, Y., Casagrande, V.A. (2012) ) Morphological and neurochemical comparisons between pulvinar and V1 projections to V2. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 521: 813–832.
Fan, R.H., Baldwin, M.K., Jermakowicz, W.J., Casagrande, V.A., Kaas, J.H., Roe, A.W. (2012) Intrinsic signal optical imaging evidence for dorsal V3 in the prosimian galago (Otolemur garnetti) Journal of Comparative Neurology 520: 4254–4274.
Casagrande, V.A. and R.T. Marion, (2011) Processing in the Primary Visual Cortex) In Adler’s Physiology of the Eye, 11th edition (A. Alm, P.L. Kaufman, (lead) L.A. Levin, S.F.E. Nilsson, J. Ver Hoeve and S.M. Wu, eds) Mosby, Elsevier, pp 586-598.
Casagrande, V.A. and J.M. Ichida (2011) Processing in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) In Adler’s Physiology of the Eye, 11th edition (A. Alm, P.L. Kaufman, (lead) L.A. Levin, S.F.E. Nilsson, J. Ver Hoeve and S.M. Wu, eds) Mosby, Elsevier, pp. 574-585.
Casagrande, V.A. and G. Purushothaman, (2009) Modularity. In Encyclopedia of Perception (E. Bruce Goldstein, ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp 561-566.
Purushothaman, G., I. Khaytin, and V.A. Casagrande (2009) Quantification of optical images of cortical responses for inferring functional maps. J. Neurophysiol., 101, 2708-2724.
Jermakowicz, W.J., X. Chen, I. Khaytin, A.B. Bonds and V.A. Casagrande (2009) Relationship between spontaneous and evoked spike-time correlations in primate visual cortex. J. Neurophysiol., 101, 2279-2789.
Casagrande, V.A., I. Khaytin, and J. Boyd (2008) Evolution of the Visual System: Mammals—Color Vision and the Function of Parallel Visual Pathways in Primates. In Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (A. Butler, ed), published, pp pending.
Boyd, J.D., I. Khaytin, and V. A. Casagrande (2008) Comparative approach to study of the evolution of mammalian visual system. In Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (A. Butler, ed.), published, pp pending.
Casagrande, V.A., I. Khaytin, I., and J. Boyd (2007) The evolution of parallel visual pathways in the brains of primates. In Evolution of the Nervous System (T.M. Preuss and J. Kaas, eds.), Vol. 4, pp. 87-108.
Jermakowicz, W.J. and Casagrande, V.A. (2007) Neuronal networks a century after Cajal. In Brain Research Reviews vol. 55: A Century of Neuroscience Discovery: Reflecting on the 1906 Nobel Prizes to Golgi and Cajal. In Brain Research Reviews (L. Swanson, ed.), Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 264-284.
Casagrande, V.A., X. Chen and W. J. Jermakowicz (2007) What language is spoken here? Conversations between neurons in primate visual cortex. In Advances in Cognitive Neurodynamics (Wang, R., Gu, F., Shen, E. eds), Springer, pp. 27-30.
Casagrande, V.A., Chen, X. and Jermakowicz, W.J. (2007) What Language is Spoken Here? ConversationsBetween Neurons in Primate Visual Cortex. In Advances in Cognitive Neurodynamics- Proceedings of the International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics – 2007. (R. Wang, F. Gu and E. Shen, eds.), Springer, pp. 27-30.
Xu, X,, Anderson, T.J., Casagrande, V.A. (2007) How do functional maps in primary visual cortex vary with eccentricity? Journal of Comparative Neurology 501: 741-755.
Casagrande, V.A., F. Yazar, K.D. Jones, and Y. Ding (2007) The morphology of the koniocellular (K) axon pathway in the macaque monkey. Cerebral Cortex 17: 2334-2345.
Casagrande, V.A., X. Chen and W. J. Jermakowicz (2007) What language is spoken here? Conversations between neurons in primate visual cortex. Advances in Cognitive Neurodynamics (Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN-07)) and 3rd International conference on Physiological Biophysics – Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN2007 proceedings).
Casagrande, V.A., I. Khaytin, I., and J. Boyd (2006) The evolution of parallel visual pathways in the brains of primates. In Evolution of the Nervous System (T.M. Preuss and J. Kaas, eds.), vol. 4, pp. 87-108.
Ruiz, O., D. Royal, G. Sary, X. Chen, J. D. Schall, and V. A. Casagrande (2006) Low-threshold Ca2+ associated bursts are rare events in the LGN of the awake behaving monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology 95:3401-3413.
Elston, G.N., R. Benavides-Piccione, A. Elston, B. Zietsch, J. DeFelipe, P. Manger, V. Casagrande and J. Kaas (2006) Specializations of the granular prefrontal cortex of primates: implications for cognitive processing. Anatomical Record Part A 288A:26-35.
Royal, D. W., Gy. Sary, J.D. Schall, and V.A. Casagrande (2006) Correlates of motor planning and integration across visual fixations in the macaque monkey lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). Experimental Brain Research 168:62-75.
Xu, X., Collins C.E., Khaytin, I., Kaas J. H., and V. A. Casagrande (2006). Unequal representation of cardinal versus oblique orientations in the middle temporal (MT) visual area. Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences 103(46):17490-95.
Casagrande, V.A., Royal, D.W., Sary, Gy. (2005) Extraretinal inputs and feedback mechanisms to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). In The Primate Visual System: A Comparative Approach (Jan Kremers, ed.) Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 191-206.
Casagrande, V. A., Gy. Sary, D. Royal, and O. Ruiz (2005) On the impact of attention and motor planning on the lateral geniculate nucleus. In Progress in Brain Research vol. 149: Cortical Function: A View from the Thalamus. (V. A. Casagrande, S. M. Sherman and R. W. Guillery, eds), Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 11-29.
Casagrande, V.A., R. Guillery, and S. Sherman, eds. (2005) Cortical function: a view from the thalamus (book). In Progress in Brain Research vol. 149: Cortical Function: A View from the Thalamus. (V. A. Casagrande, S. M. Sherman and R. W. Guillery, eds) Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Collins, C. E., X. Xu, I. Khaytin, P. M. Kaskan, V. A. Casagrande, and J. H. Kaas (2005) Optical imaging of visually evoked responses in the middle temporal area after deactivation of primary visual cortex in adult primates. Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences 102(15): 5594-5559.
Elston, E., A. Elston, V. Casagrande, and J. H. Kaas (2005) Pyramidal neurons in granular prefrontal cortex of the bush baby: Complexity in the evolution of the psychic cell. Anatomical Record Part A 285A:610-618.
Elston, E., A. Elston, V. Casagrande, and J. H. Kaas (2005) Regional specialization of pyramidal cell structure in the cerebral cortex of the bush baby (Otolemur garnetti). Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 66:10-20.
Elston, E., A. Elston, V. Casagrande, and J. H. Kaas (2005) Areal specialization of pyramidal cell structure in the visual cortex of the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri): a new task revealed in the evolution of cortical circuitry. Experimental Brain Research 163:13-20.
Xu, X., Bosking W. H., White, L. E., Fitzpatrick, D., & Casagrande, V.A. (2005) Functional organization of visual cortex in the prosimian bush baby revealed by optical imaging of intrinsic signals. Journal of Neurophysiology, 94:2748-2762.
Casagrande, V.A. and X. Xu (2004) Parallel visual pathways: a comparative perspective. In The Visual Neurosciences (L. Chalupa and John S. Werner, eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 494-506.
Wiencken, A. E., J. Mavity-Hudson, M. Kutsche, M. Schachner, and V. A. Casagrande (2004). The role of L1 in axon pathfinding and fasciculation. Cerebral Cortex (cover figure) 14:121-113.
Xu, X., C.E. Collins, P.M. Kaskan, I. Khaytin, J.H. Kaas, and V.A. Casagrande (2004). Optical imaging of visually evoked responses in prosimian primates reveals conserved features of the middle temporal visual area. Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences 101(8): 2566-71.
Xu, X., W. Bosking, G. Sary, J. Stefansic, D. Shima, and V. Casagrande (2004). Functional organization of visual cortex in the owl monkey. Journal of Neuroscience (cover figure), 24(28):6237-6247.
Casagrande, V.A. and D. Royal (2003) Parallel visual pathways in a dynamic system. In Primate Vision (J. H. Kaas and C. E. Collins, eds.) Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 1-28.
Joos, K., L. Mawn, J. Shen, V. A. Casagrande (2003) Chronic and acute analysis of optic nerve sheath fenestration with the free electron laser in monkeys. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 32:32-41.
Shostak, Y., Y. Ding, and V. A. Casagrande (2003) Neurochemical comparison of synaptic arrangements of parvocellular, magnocellular, and koniocellular geniculate pathways in owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus) visual cortex. Journal of Comparative Neurology 456: 12-28.
Casagrande, V. A. and J.M. Ichida (2002) The visual cortex. In Physiology of the Eye (F. H. Adler, ed.), St. Louis, MO: C.V. Mosby, pp. 669-685.
Casagrande, V. A., X. Xu, and Gy. Sary (2002) Static and dynamic views of visual cortical organization. In Changing Views of Cajal's Neuron, vol.136, Progress in Brain Research (P. Rakic, E. Azmitia, J. deFelipe, C. Ribak and E. Jones, eds.), New York: Elsevier, pp. 389-408.
Ichida, J. M. and V. A. Casagrande (2002) Organization of the feedback pathway from striate cortex (V1) to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in a simian primate (Aotus trivirgatus). Journal of Comparative Neurology 454:272-283.
Lyon, D. C., X. Xu, V. A., Casagrande, J. D. Stefansic, D. Shima and J. H. Kaas (2002) Optical imaging reveals retinotopic organization of dorsal V3 in New World owl monkeys. Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences 99 (24):15735-15742. .
Shostak, Y., Y. Ding, J. A. Mavity-Hudson, and V. A. Casagrande (2002) Cortical synaptic arrangements of the third visual pathway in three primate species: Macaca mulatta, Saimiri sciureus, and Aotus trivirgatus. Journal of Neuroscience 22:2885-2893.
Wiencken-Barger, A.E. and V. A. Casagrande (2002) Visual system development and neural activity. In Encyclopedia of the Human Brain (V. S. Ramachandran, ed.) San Diego: Academic, pp. 791-804.
Xu, X., J. M. Ichida, Y. Shostak, A. B. Bonds, and V. A. Casagrande (2002) Are primate lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) cells really sensitive to orientation or direction? Visual Neuroscience 19: 97-108. Casagrande, V. A. and J.M. Ichida (2002) The lateral geniculate nucleus. In Physiology of the Eye (F. H. Adler, ed.), St. Louis, MO: C.V. Mosby, pp. 655-668.
Xu, X., J. M. Ichida, J. D. Allison, J. D. Boyd, A. B. Bonds and V. A. Casagrande (2001) A comparison of koniocellular, magnocellular and parvocellular receptive field properties in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus). The Journal of Physiology 531.1: 203-218.

References: V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V. 
 V.