Sakir Kaan Cetindag

Vision is a crucial sense that enables us to process a vast array of information and gives us the ability to interact with and navigate the world. Visual perception is thought to reflect the activity of appropriately tuned neurons in a range of areas that belong to specialized information streams working in tandem.

I aim to uncover the functional role of distinct visual information pathways in generating specialized representations in visual cortical areas and illuminate their differential role in visual perception. For this purpose, I am utilizing a visually guided behavioral assay that allows probing the animal’s perception of visual stimuli with different spatiotemporal features. I’m also combining genetic circuit tracing, cellular imaging, widefield and patterned-light optogenetics to interfere with activity in specific cortical areas to casually link the role of certain areas and pathways in perception of distinct visual information.