Shanidze Lab
Natela Shanidze
Scientist
Degrees: Ph.D. in Neuroscience, University of Michigan
M.S. in Neuroscience, University of Michigan
A.B. in Physics, University of Chicago
A.B. in Psychology, University of Chicago
M.S. in Neuroscience, University of Michigan
A.B. in Physics, University of Chicago
A.B. in Psychology, University of Chicago
My research interests are placed at a number of intersections, such as senses, modalities and effectors. Currently in my lab, we are investigating the effects of central vision loss on visual/vestibular interactions and the effects of lifetime noise exposure on vestibular function.
In the experiments that examine central field loss, I am interested in how changes in the visual and vestibular senses are reflected in eye-head coordination and how these changes, in turn, affect tasks of daily living (such as navigation and walking). Considering that central visual field loss is most commonly age-related, I am interested in teasing out how aging and sensory loss affect each other in this population.
Noise exposure is a known cause of hearing deficits and those with noise-induced hearing deficits often report dizziness and instability. This relationship is unsurprising given the close proximity of auditory and vestibular sensors in the head and that the two systems share the VIII nerve. However, direct research into how auditory noise can affect the vestibular system is rather limited. I would like to help fill this gap.
To study these questions, my lab uses a mixture of vestibular and visual stimulation, eye and head movements, psychophysics and other behavioral measures.
Tabs
Journal Articles
. (2023). Noise Estimation for Head-Mounted 3D Binocular Eye Tracking using Pupil Core Eye Tracking Goggles. Behavior Research Methods.
. (2022). Saccadic contributions to smooth pursuit in macular degeneration. Vision Research, 200, 108102. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2022.108102
. (2022). A low-cost robotic oculomotor simulator for assessing eye tracking accuracy in health and disease. Behavior Research Methods. http://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-022-01938-w
. (2020). Eye Movements in Macular Degeneration. Annual Reviews Of Vision Science, 7. http://doi.org/doi.org/10.1146/annurev-vision-100119-125555
. (2020). Eye, Head & Gaze Contributions to Smooth Pursuit in Macular Degeneration. Journal Of Neurophysiology. http://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00001.2020
. (2019). Motion perception in central field loss. Journal Of Vision, 19, 20–20. http://doi.org/10.1167/19.14.20
. (2017). Monocular and Binocular Smooth Pursuit in Central Field Loss. Vision Research.
. (2016). Accuracy of Eye Position for Saccades and Smooth Pursuit. Journal Of Vision, 16(23). http://doi.org/10.1167/16.15.23
. (2016). Smooth pursuit eye movements in patients with macular degeneration. Journal Of Vision, 16, 1.
. (2012). Galvanic stimulation of the vestibular periphery in guinea pigs during passive whole body rotation and self-generated head movement. Journal Of Neurophysiology, 107, 2260–2270.
. (2011). Anticipatory eye movements stabilize gaze during self-generated head movements. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences, 1233, 219–225.
. (2010). Eye-head coordination in the guinea pig II. Responses to self-generated (voluntary) head movements. Experimental Brain Research, 205, 445–454.
. (2010). Eye–head coordination in the guinea pig I. Responses to passive whole-body rotations. Experimental Brain Research, 205, 395–404.
Conference Papers
. (2021). Eye, Robot: Calibration Challenges and Potential Solutions for Wearable Eye Tracking in Individuals with Eccentric Fixation. In ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (Adjunct, pp. 1-3). Association for Computing Machinery: New York, NY, USA. http://doi.org/10.1145/3450341.3458489
. (2021). Noise in the Machine: Sources of Physical and Computation Error in Eye Tracking with Pupil Core Wearable Eye Tracker. In ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications (pp. 1-3). Association for Computing Machinery: New York, NY, USA. http://doi.org/10.1145/3450341.3458495
Presentations/Posters
. (2021). Saccades during smooth pursuit in macular degeneration. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
. (2021). Effects of eccentric viewing in orientation discrimination. presented at the 01/2021, Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome: Virtual.
. (2021). Evaluating Associations Between Central Visual Field Loss and Conscious Movement Processing. presented at the 01/2021, Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome: Virtual.
. (2021). Functional Correlates of Noise-Induced Damage to the Vestibular Periphery. presented at the 01/2021, Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome: Virtual.
. (2020). Effects of task demands on smooth pursuit gain in macular degeneration. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting: Canceled due to COVID.
. (2020). Effect of Viewing Distance on the Vestibuloocular Reflex in Central Field Loss. presented at the 01/2020, Association for Research in Otolaryngology MidWinter Meeting: San Jose, CA.
. (2019). Motion Perception in Central Field Loss: Visual Field Contributions. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. ARVO: Vancouver B.C.
. (2019). Does eccentric fixation alter head movement strategy for smooth pursuit?. Neural Control of Movement: Toyama, Japan.
. (2018). Interaction of Eye and Head Movements during Smooth Pursuit in Macular Degeneration. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
. (2018). Motion Perception in Central Field Loss.
. (2016). Gaze Changes from Binocular to Monocular Viewing during Smooth Pursuit in Macular Degeneration. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
. (2016). Do we foveate targets during smooth pursuit?.
. (2015). Evaluation of Smooth Pursuit in Individuals with Central Field Loss. European Conference on Eye Movements. Vienna, Austria: Vienna, Austria.
Other Publications
. (2011). Coordination of Eye and Head Movements in Cavia Porcellus. Neuroscience Program. University of Michigan.
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
The Center's research goal is to develop and apply new scientific knowledge and practical, cost-effective devices to better understand and address the real-world problems of blind, visually impaired, and deaf-blind consumers
Active
Active
Challenges in Head-Free Eye Tracking in Health & Disease
This project is focused on investigating sources of error and potential improvement methodologies for head-free eye tracking, particularly in individuals with known oculomotor deficits
Active
Vestibular Function in AMD: Verticality Perception
To accurately perceive one’s own state and that of the surrounding environment, visual, vestibular and somatosensory inputs must be appropriately weighted and dynamically reweighted depending on the environment and task difficulty, as well as signal reliability (and availability). Aging is associated with an increase on visual dependence (a greater weighting of visual information). In this project we investigate how loss of visual information due to AMD affects this reweighting process and if an increase in visual dependence may be maladaptive in AMD.
Active
Effects of Noise Exposure Across the Lifespan on Balance and Stability in Older Adults
Falls in older adults are common, have high societal and monetary costs, often lead to injury and can even be fatal. It is known that noise can damage the vestibular periphery resulting in postural instability and compromised balance. This project investigates how natural aging is accelerated by lifetime noise exposure, and how that can lead to impaired vestibular function, contributing to propensity to fall.
Active
Robotic Oculomotor Simulator
Current eye tracking and calibration algorithms do not accommodate eccentric viewing and the capacity for accurate eye tracking is difficult to assess in individuals with central visual field loss, and few studies of naturalistic oculomotor behavior exist. To address this problem, we are developing a binocular robotic model of the human eyes that can simulate fixation and eye movements with an eccentric preferred retinal locus in one or both eyes and allow for precise assessment of eye tracking performance of head mounted computer vision-based eye tracking systems.
Active
Fovea Use During Smooth Pursuit
There is continuing debate as to whether smooth pursuit relies on the foveation of a moving target, especially when the target is compact. Previous studies have shown that gaze is placed on the center-of-mass of a target during saccadic eye movements. This research aims to understand whether eye...
Active
Coordination of Eye and Head Movements in Central Field Loss
This project investigates the interaction between central field loss (CFL) and vestibular function.
Active
Characteristics of Smooth Pursuit in Individuals with Central Field Loss
This project investigates the properties of smooth pursuit eye movements in individuals with macular degeneration. Commonly believed to be a fovea-linked eye movement, smooth pursuit has not been previously investigated in individuals with central field loss, despite its importance for tracking moving objects, such as vehicles or pedestrians on a busy street.
Active
Adaptive Visual Strategies for Individuals with Macular Degeneration
In this project we try to gain a better understanding of what visual strategies people use to gather information in the world.
Completed
Completed
Motion Perception in Central Field Loss
The project investigates motion perception in individuals with vision loss due to central retinal lesion, but who retain healthy peripheral retina. Healthy peripheral retina is exquisitely sensitive to fast speeds, however, there is limited and conflicting information about motion processing in residual peripheral retina in patients with central field loss, often due to macular degeneration. We use psychophysical and eye tracking approaches to systematically probe speed and direction sensitivity in this population.
Contact Information
Email:
natela@ski.org
Office Phone:
(415) 345-2144
Links