Research Interests:
We focus on the neuronal mechanism of visual pattern recogination:
Hubel and Wiesel's discovery on visual cortex may have answered the question about how a simple line segment could be identified. Namely: the brain has prefabricated the corresponding detector for bars in different orientations and occurred at various locations. However, this simple strategy will encounter difficulties when the brain has to identify complicated shapes. Perhaps we can imagine that the brain precast detectors for combination of two bars. But what will it do for three bars or more complex shapes? Unfortunately, most real shapes are more complex than bars. It is just the beginning to identify the local bar orientation in the contour. The real challenge is how the visual system identifies a complete shapes using dispersed orientation information.
We are concentrating on how the visual cortex recognize shapes that are a little more complex than bars, such as how the brain identify a longer line, or an angle combined by two bars. To this end, we have established advanced behavioral and neurophysiological methods including electrode arrays, optical imaging, two-photon imaging and optical stimulation, to figure out the complicated neural circuits in the visual cortex.
Selected Publications:
1. Li M, Liu F, Juusola,M, Tang SM. (2014). Perceptual Color Map in Macaque Visual Area V4. Journal of Neuroscience, 34(1), 202-217.
2. Trevor J. Wardill, Olivier List, Xiaofeng Li, Sidhartha Dongre, Marie McCulloch, Chun-Yuan Ting, Cahir J. O’Kane, Tang SM, Chi-Hon Lee, Roger C. Hardie, and Mikko Juusola. (2012). Multiple Spectral Inputs Improve Motion Discrimination in the Drosophila Visual System. Science,18, 925-931.
3. Tang SM，Juusola, M. (2011). Intrinsic Activity in the Fly Brain Gates Visual Information during Behavioral Choices. PLoS ONE, 5(12), e14455.
4. Tang SM, Wolf R, Xu SP, Heisenberg M. (2004). Visual pattern recognition in Drosophila is invariant for retinal position. Science, 305, 1020-1022.
5. Wang SP, Tang SM. (2003). Behavioral modification in choice process of Drosophila. Science in China, Vol.46, pp.399-413.
6. Tang SM, Guo AK. (2001). Choice behavior of Drosophila facing contradictory visual cues. Science, 294, 1543-1547.