Coordinating movement in a complex world: How the midbrain and oculomotor cerebellum encode visual motion originating from realistic scenes to guide locomotion.

As we move about the world, we experience optic flow – the movement of surfaces and objects resulting from self-motion. Studies of human behavior have shown that optic flow is critical for controlling posture, walking, driving, and navigating complex environments. Deficits in optic flow processing are linked to diseases including vertigo, oscillopsia, ataxias, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Determining how and where the brain processes optic flow is therefore crucial to human health and behavior, but major gaps in knowledge remain. Typically, optic flow processing is studied by exposing subjects to simple patterns. These methods allow for tight control of experimental designs, but simple patterns lack features provided by the real world – features we use every day. How and where the brain encodes realistic visual motion to control our movement is almost entirely unknown. This severely limits our ability to treat those with optic flow deficits. This proposal aims to understand how and where the brain processes visual motion originating from realistic scenes using pigeons as a model system.

End of Award Update – August 2024

Results

The most exciting result from my project was the recognition that birds, like humans, exhibit substantial and significant eye movements during locomotion. The goal of my project was to utilize birds as a model to study optic flow processing in the midbrain and cerebellum. The fact that birds and humans share similar oculomotor traits adds to the power of avian models for human neuroscience research.

Impact

I received a job that combines research with service to my community just nine months into my Health Research BC fellowship. Thus, my project is still ongoing.

Potential Influence

Rodents are typically used as model organisms to study the human brain and brain disorders, but they do not rely on vision to the same extent as humans. Birds, on the other hand, have a well-developed visual system and, like humans, rely heavily on vision for guidance. By enhancing our understanding of avian neuroscience, my project will advance the development of avian models for human neuroscience research.

Next Steps

Components of this project are currently in preparation for publication. Alongside publication, I will continue to work on this project, in collaboration with scientists at the University of British Columbia, from my new position at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington.

Impact on Research Career

The Michael Smith Health Research BC/Parkinson Society British Columbia Research Trainee Award allowed me to continue my research in BC and ultimately secure a job serving my community. Indigenous people are currently the least represented group in STEM. In my position at Northwest Indian College, I am able to continue my research project while also training the next generation of Indigenous scientists.