Yu Tang

Current Research Interests:

My research focuses on higher-order visual cortical activity changes after visual experience, and how it influences activities in the primary visual cortex. The visual cortex has a hierarchical structure, the primary visual cortex being the first stage and encoding features like orientations and directions. Higher-order visual cortical areas have more specialized functions, such as object recognition, motion detection, and they reciprocally connect with the primary visual cortex. Recent studies revealed the capability of the primary visual cortex activity in reporting familiar visual stimulus, detecting deviance, and perceiving coherent motions, but whether these activity profiles under influence of higher-order visual cortical activities is understudied. With genetically modifiable mouse line, optogenetics, high-density extracellular recording techniques, we are now able to get a closer look on these questions. By understanding the circuit mechanisms of how we see the world, we can help develop targeted treatments for people with difficulties in vision.