华中科技大学武汉光电国家实验室生物医学光子学教育部重点实验室周伟课题组的一项最新研究发现，联合编码能够表征小鼠高级视觉区在精细尺度上的功能专门化。该成果于2026年8月17日发表于《神经科学通报》杂志。

在这项研究中，研究人员通过开发一种神经元颜色纯度评估策略来研究视觉皮层中颜色和运动的处理。他们的结果表明，颜色纯度和运动的联合编码区分了它们的hva的功能角色，而调整偏好将它们分为两组。具体来说，颜色纯度和运动之间的相关性在hva中是特定区域的，而调节偏好遵循假定的背侧和腹侧流。解剖学结果表明，hva的关节编码可能与初级视觉皮层神经元对多个目标的投射有关。总的来说，这些发现表明，通过联合编码定义的特征整合比单独的分离提供了更精细的功能分化维度，从而建立了皮层功能特化的新机制。

据介绍，高级视觉区域（HVAs）的功能专门化传统上归因于不同视觉特征的分离；然而，功能集成的作用仍然知之甚少。

附：英文原文

Title: Joint Encoding Represents Fine-Scale Functional Specialization in Mouse Higher Visual Areas

Author: Dai, Zimin, Chang, Jin, Gong, Deyong, Ke, Shanshan, Lei, Huijuan, Zhou, Wei

Issue&Volume: 2026-08-17

Abstract: Functional specialization in the higher visual areas (HVAs) has traditionally been attributed to the segregation of distinct visual features; however, the role of feature integration remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the processing of color and motion in the visual cortex by developing a neuronal color-purity assessment strategy. Our results demonstrate that the joint encoding of color purity and motion distinguishes the functional roles of the four HVAs, whereas tuning preferences segregate them into two groups. Specifically, correlations between color purity and motion are area-specific across the HVAs, whereas tuning preferences follow the putative dorsal and ventral streams. The anatomical results suggest that joint encoding in the HVAs may be related to the primary visual cortex neurons with projections to multiple targets. Collectively, these findings reveal that feature integration, operationally defined via joint encoding, provides a finer dimension of functional differentiation than segregation alone, thereby establishing a novel mechanism underlying cortical functional specialization.

DOI: 10.1007/s12264-026-01701-7

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12264-026-01701-7