Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: CARLOS EMMANUEL SOUSA DE ANDRADE CABRAL

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : CARLOS EMMANUEL SOUSA DE ANDRADE CABRAL
DATE: 14/11/2025
TIME: 14:30
LOCAL: Instituto do Cérebro (Sala de Reuniões) e pelo Meet: https://meet.google.com/wod-nixc-bat
TITLE:

PSYCHOPHYSICAL SIGNATURES OF VISUAL INTERHEMISPHERIC CONNECTIONS ACROSS ADULTHOOD

KEY WORDS:

PSYCHOPHYSICS; AGING; VISUAL SYSTEM; INTERHEMISPHERIC; CORPUS CALLOSUM; ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE;

PAGES: 78
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Fisiologia
SUMMARY:

AGING AFFECTS COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING SENSORY PERCEPTION, WHICH CAN BE ASSESSED THROUGH BEHAVIORAL METHODS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO CHARACTERIZE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN VISUAL PERCEPTION, FOCUSING ON INTER- AND INTRA-HEMISPHERIC CONNECTIVITY OF THE VISUAL CORTEX. WE SEEK TO EXPLORE ASYMMETRIES IN HUMAN PERCEPTION OF SHAPES AND MOTION ALONG THE VERTICAL MIDLINE (VM) OF THE VISUAL FIELD, TRANSLATING FINDINGS FROM NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES IN ANIMALS WITH HIGH VISUAL ACUITY. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE CORPUS CALLOSUM, A STRUCTURE THAT CONNECTS THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES AND ENSURES PERCEPTUAL CONTINUITY, MAY UNDERGO AGE-RELATED DEGENERATION, PARTICULARLY ALONG THE ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR GRADIENT, WITH THE POSTERIOR PORTION AND VISUAL CALLOSAL CONNECTIONS BEING LESS AFFECTED. HOWEVER, THESE REGIONS ARE VULNERABLE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD), MAKING IT CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTAND HOW INTERHEMISPHERIC VISUAL PROCESSING IS INFLUENCED BY NORMAL AGING. PRELIMINARY STUDIES IN OUR LABORATORY CONFIRM MOTION PERCEPTION ASYMMETRIES IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS, SUGGESTING THAT THESE MAY SERVE AS BEHAVIORAL MARKERS OF THE INTEGRITY OF VISUAL CALLOSAL CIRCUITS THROUGHOUT ADULTHOOD. THE HYPOTHESIS TESTED WAS THAT AGING MAY ALTER VISUAL PERCEPTION BY AFFECTING NEURAL CIRCUITS RESPONSIBLE FOR PERCEPTUAL GROUPING AND COLLINEAR FACILITATION ALONG THE VM, IMPACTING PERCEPTUAL ASYMMETRY. WE DEVELOPED STIMULI THAT CHALLENGE PERCEPTUAL GROUPING AT THE VM AND APPLIED THEM TO BOTH YOUNG AND OLDER ADULTS. THE COLLECTED DATA MAY CONTRIBUTE TO NEW PRECLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC METHODS AIMED AT DETECTING COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT THAT DEVIATES FROM NORMAL AGING AND IDENTIFYING EARLY VISUAL SYMPTOMS OF CONDITIONS SUCH AS ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo ao Programa - 2140866 - ALYSON MATHEUS DE CARVALHO SOUZA - nullPresidente - 1871878 - KERSTIN ERIKA SCHMIDT
Interno - 1660044 - SIDARTA TOLLENDAL GOMES RIBEIRO