\chapter*{ACKNOWLEDGMENTS}

\vspace{7mm}

I would like to thank my dissertation committee — Dr. Andr\'e M. Bastos, Dr. Alexander Maier, Dr. John H. Reynolds, Dr. Jeffrey D. Schall, and Dr. Geoffrey F. Woodman — for providing helpful feedback and invaluable support that contributed to the studies presented in this dissertation. 

The study presented in Chapter Two was published in \textit{The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences} in 2021 (vol. 180) \citep{westerberg_pop-out_2021}. Co-authors on this manuscript include Elizabeth A. Sigworth, Dr. Jeffrey D. Schall, and Dr. Alexander Maier. I thank I. Haniff, M. Feurtado, M. Maddox, S. Motorny, D. Richardson, L. Toy, B. Williams, and R. Williams for technical advice and assistance. I would like to thank S. Errington, Dr. K. Lowe, and Dr. P. Martin for useful conversations regarding the work. The work in Chapter Two was supported by research grants from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: P30EY008126, R01EY008890, R01EY019882, R01EY027402] and the NIH Office of the Director [grant number: S10OD021771]. I was supported by fellowships from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: F31EY031293, T32EY007135] when this work was done. 

The study presented in Chapter Three is available on \textit{bioRxiv} \citep{westerberg_feedforward_2022}. Co-authors on this manuscript include Dr. Jeffrey D. Schall, Dr. Geoffrey F. Woodman, and Dr. Alexander Maier. I thank I. Haniff, M. Feurtado, M. Maddox, S. Motorny, D. Richardson, L. Toy, B. Williams, and R. Williams for technical advice and assistance. I would like to thank Dr. G. Logan, Dr. T. Palmeri, Dr. G. Bahg, Dr. S. Lilburn, and Dr. J. Theeuwes for useful conversations regarding the work. The work in Chapter Three was supported by research grants from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: P30EY008126, R01EY008890, R01EY019882, R01EY027402] and the NIH Office of the Director [grant number: S10OD021771]. I was supported by fellowships from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: F31EY031293, T32EY007135] when this work was done. 

The study presented in Chapter Four has been published in \textit{eLife} in 2022 (vol. 11) \citep{westerberg_laminar_2022}. The work was carried out by me, Michelle S. Schall, Dr. Alexander Maier, Dr. Geoffrey F. Woodman, and Dr. Jeffrey D. Schall. I thank I. Haniff, M. Feurtado, M. Maddox, S. Motorny, D. Richardson, L. Toy, B. Williams, and R. Williams for technical advice and assistance. I would like to thank Dr. B. Purcell and K. Weigand for collecting data. I would like to thank S. Errington, B. Herrera, Dr. K. Lowe, Dr. T. Reppert, Dr. J. Riera, Dr. A. Sajad, and E. Sigworth for useful conversations regarding the work.  The work in Chapter Four was supported by research grants from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: P30EY008126, R01EY008890, R01EY019882, R01EY027402] and the NIH Office of the Director [grant number: S10OD021771]. I was supported by fellowships from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: F31EY031293, T32EY007135] when this work was done. 

The study presented in Chapter Five is under review at \textit{NeuroImage} and a version of the manuscript is available on \textit{bioRxiv} \citep{herrera_resolving_2022}. In addition to myself, authors for Chapter Five include Beatriz Herrera (co-first author), Michelle S. Schall, Dr. Alexander Maier, Dr. Geoffrey F. Woodman, Dr. Jeffrey D. Schall, and Dr. Jorge J. Riera. I thank I. Haniff, M. Feurtado, M. Maddox, S. Motorny, D. Richardson, L. Toy, B. Williams, and R. Williams for technical advice and assistance. I would like to thank S. Errington, Dr. K. Lowe, and Dr. A. Sajad for useful conversations regarding the work.  The work in Chapter Five was supported by research grants from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: P30EY008126, R01EY008890, R01EY019882, R01EY027402], the NIH Office of the Director [grant number: S10OD021771], and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [grant number: RGPIN-2022-04592]. I was supported by fellowships from the National Eye Institute [grant numbers: F31EY031293, T32EY007135] when this work was done.