Controversial issues in visual cortex mapping: Extrastriate cortex between areas V2 and MT in human and nonhuman primates

AbstractThe short-wavelength-sensitive (S) cones play an important role in color vision of primates, and may also contribute to the coding of other visual features, such as luminance and motion. The color signals carried by the S cones and other cone types are largely separated in the subcortical visual pathway. Studies on nonhuman primates or humans have suggested that these signals are combined in the striate cortex (V1) following a substantial amplification of the S-cone signals in the same area. In addition to reviewing these studies, this review describes the circuitry in V1 that may underlie the processing of the S-cone signals and the dynamics of this processing. It also relates the interaction between various cone signals in V1 to the results of some psychophysical and physiological studies on color perception, which leads to a discussion of a previous model, in which color perception is produced by a multistage processing of the cone signals. Finally, I discuss the processing of the S-cone signals in the extrastriate area V2.

Download Full-text

Blindsight after Optic Nerve Injury Indicates Functionality of Spared Fibers

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/089892902317236876 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 243-253 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Stefan Wüst ◽

Erich Kasten ◽

Bernhard A. Sabel

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Optic Nerve ◽

Nerve Injury ◽

Visual Stimuli ◽

Spatial Summation ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Lesion Site ◽

Optic Nerve Injury ◽

Stimulus Detection ◽

Primary Damage

Some patients with lesions in the geniculostriate pathway (GSP) can respond to visual stimuli in the blind field without conscious acknowledgement. The substrate for this “blind-sight” is controversial: whether it is the uninjured extrastriate pathway (EXP), which bypasses the lesion site, or residual fibers within damaged visual cortex (“islands of vision”). Using stimulus detection, localization, and spatial summation tasks, we have found blindsight in patients with damage both in the optic nerve (ON) and EXP. The prevalence and functional characteristics of their blindsight are indistinguishable from that in patients with GSP lesions, so blindsight does not require a completely intact EXP. The present findings support the view that a few surviving ON axons within an area of primary damage are sufficient to mediate blindsight: Several combinations of partially intact pathways can transmit information to the extrastriate cortex and the sum of activation of all visual fibers surviving the injury determines if and to what extent blindsight occurs.

Download Full-text

Simulated Optic Flow and Extrastriate Cortex. I. Optic Flow Versus Texture

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1997.77.2.554 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

pp. 554-561 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Jong-Nam Kim ◽

Kathleen Mulligan ◽

Helen Sherk

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Visual Field ◽

Optic Flow ◽

Visual Experience ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Gray Level ◽

Visual Guidance ◽

Forward Motion ◽

Cell Responses ◽

Single Origin

Kim, Jong-Nam, Kathleen Mulligan, and Helen Sherk. Simulated optic flow and extrastriate cortex. I. Optic flow versus texture. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 554–561, 1997. A locomoting observer sees a very different visual scene than an observer at rest: images throughout the visual field accelerate and expand, and they follow approximately radial outward paths from a single origin. This so-called optic flow field is presumably used for visual guidance, and it has been suggested that particular areas of visual cortex are specialized for the analysis of optic flow. In the cat, the lateral suprasylvian visual area (LS) is a likely candidate. To test the hypothesis that LS is specialized for analysis of optic flow fields, we recorded cell responses to optic flow displays. Stimulus movies simulated the experience of a cat trotting slowly across an endless plain covered with small balls. In different simulations we varied the size of balls, their organization (randomly or regularly dispersed), and their color (all one gray level, or multiple shades of gray). For each optic flow movie, a “texture” movie composed of the same elements but lacking optic flow cues was tested. In anesthetized cats, >500 neurons in LS were studied with a variety of movies. Most (70%) of 454 visually responsive cells responded to optic flow movies. Visually responsive cells generally preferred optic flow to texture movies (69% of those responsive to any movie). The direction in which a movie was shown (forward or reverse) was also an important factor. Most cells (68%) strongly preferred forward motion, which corresponded to visual experience during locomotion.

Download Full-text

Beta Oscillation Dynamics in Extrastriate Cortex after Removal of Primary Visual Cortex

Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1523/jneurosci.0509-14.2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 34 (35) ◽

pp. 11857-11864 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

J. T. Schmiedt ◽

A. Maier ◽

P. Fries ◽

R. C. Saunders ◽

D. A. Leopold ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Primary Visual Cortex ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Oscillation Dynamics ◽

Beta Oscillation

Download Full-text

Dopamine Receptor Expression Among Local and Visual Cortex-Projecting Frontal Eye Field Neurons

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhz078 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 148-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Adrienne Mueller ◽

Rebecca M Krock ◽

Steven Shepard ◽

Tirin Moore

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Pyramidal Neurons ◽

Receptor Expression ◽

Inhibitory Neurons ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Frontal Eye Field ◽

D2 Dopamine Receptors ◽

Dopaminergic Modulation ◽

Eye Field ◽

Parvalbumin Neurons

Abstract Dopaminergic modulation of prefrontal cortex plays an important role in numerous cognitive processes, including attention. The frontal eye field (FEF) is modulated by dopamine and has an established role in visual attention, yet the underlying circuitry upon which dopamine acts is not known. We compared the expression of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors (D1Rs and D2Rs) across different classes of FEF neurons, including those projecting to dorsal or ventral extrastriate cortex. First, we found that both D1Rs and D2Rs are more prevalent on pyramidal neurons than on several classes of interneurons and are particularly prevalent on putatively long-range projecting pyramidals. Second, higher proportions of pyramidal neurons express D1Rs than D2Rs. Third, overall a higher proportion of inhibitory neurons expresses D2Rs than D1Rs. Fourth, among inhibitory interneurons, a significantly higher proportion of parvalbumin+ neurons expresses D2Rs than D1Rs, and a significantly higher proportion of calbindin+ neurons expresses D1Rs than D2Rs. Finally, compared with D2Rs, virtually all of the neurons with identified projections to both dorsal and ventral extrastriate visual cortex expressed D1Rs. Our results demonstrate that dopamine tends to act directly on the output of the FEF and that dopaminergic modulation of top-down projections to visual cortex is achieved predominately via D1Rs.

Download Full-text

Functional ultrasound imaging of deep visual cortex in awake nonhuman primates

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1916787117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (25) ◽

pp. 14453-14463 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kévin Blaize ◽

Fabrice Arcizet ◽

Marc Gesnik ◽

Harry Ahnine ◽

Ulisse Ferrari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Nonhuman Primates ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Ocular Dominance ◽

Spatiotemporal Resolution ◽

Retinotopic Maps ◽

Visual Tasks ◽

Deep Layers ◽

Fixation Task ◽

Passive Fixation

Deep regions of the brain are not easily accessible to investigation at the mesoscale level in awake animals or humans. We have recently developed a functional ultrasound (fUS) technique that enables imaging hemodynamic responses to visual tasks. Using fUS imaging on two awake nonhuman primates performing a passive fixation task, we constructed retinotopic maps at depth in the visual cortex (V1, V2, and V3) in the calcarine and lunate sulci. The maps could be acquired in a single-hour session with relatively few presentations of the stimuli. The spatial resolution of the technology is illustrated by mapping patterns similar to ocular dominance (OD) columns within superficial and deep layers of the primary visual cortex. These acquisitions using fUS suggested that OD selectivity is mostly present in layer IV but with extensions into layers II/III and V. This imaging technology provides a new mesoscale approach to the mapping of brain activity at high spatiotemporal resolution in awake subjects within the whole depth of the cortex.

Download Full-text

Emergence of transformation-tolerant representations of visual objects in rat lateral extrastriate cortex

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.22794 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Sina Tafazoli ◽

Houman Safaai ◽

Gioia De Franceschi ◽

Federica Bianca Rosselli ◽

Walter Vanzella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Visual Processing ◽

Visual Information ◽

Neuronal Firing ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Level Energy ◽

Object Processing ◽

Neuronal Populations ◽

Visual Objects ◽

Extrastriate Areas

Rodents are emerging as increasingly popular models of visual functions. Yet, evidence that rodent visual cortex is capable of advanced visual processing, such as object recognition, is limited. Here we investigate how neurons located along the progression of extrastriate areas that, in the rat brain, run laterally to primary visual cortex, encode object information. We found a progressive functional specialization of neural responses along these areas, with: (1) a sharp reduction of the amount of low-level, energy-related visual information encoded by neuronal firing; and (2) a substantial increase in the ability of both single neurons and neuronal populations to support discrimination of visual objects under identity-preserving transformations (e.g., position and size changes). These findings strongly argue for the existence of a rat object-processing pathway, and point to the rodents as promising models to dissect the neuronal circuitry underlying transformation-tolerant recognition of visual objects.

Download Full-text

Dissociated mean and functional connectivity BOLD signals in visual cortex during eyes closed and fixation

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00900.2011 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 108 (9) ◽

pp. 2363-2372 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Mark McAvoy ◽

Linda Larson-Prior ◽

Marek Ludwikow ◽

Dongyang Zhang ◽

Abraham Z. Snyder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Cortex ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Primary Visual Cortex ◽

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Connected Components ◽

Bold Signal ◽

Thalamic Nuclei ◽

Eyes Closed ◽

Visual Areas

We investigated the effects of resting state type on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal and functional connectivity in two paradigms: participants either alternated between fixation and eyes closed or maintained fixation or eyes closed throughout each scan. The BOLD signal and functional connectivity of lower and higher tiers of the visual cortical hierarchy were found to be differentially modulated during eyes closed versus fixation. Fixation was associated with greater mean BOLD signals in primary visual cortex and lower mean BOLD signals in extrastriate visual areas than periods of eyes closed. In addition, analysis of thalamocortical functional connectivity during scans in which participants maintained fixation showed synchronized BOLD fluctuations between those thalamic nuclei whose mean BOLD signal was systematically modulated during alternating epochs of eyes closed and fixation, primary visual cortex and the attention network, while during eyes closed negatively correlated fluctuations were seen between the same thalamic nuclei and extrastriate visual areas. Finally, in all visual areas the amplitude of spontaneous BOLD fluctuations was greater during eyes closed than during fixation. The dissociation between early and late tiers of visual cortex, which characterizes both mean and functionally connected components of the BOLD signal, may depend on the reorganization of thalamocortical networks. Since dissociated changes in local blood flow also characterize transitions between different stages of sleep and wakefulness (Braun AR, Balkin TJ, Wesenten NJ, Gwadry F, Carson RE, Varga M, Baldwin P, Belenky G, Herscovitch P. Science 279: 91–95, 1998), our results suggest that dissociated endogenous neural activity in primary and extrastriate cortex may represent a general aspect of brain function.

Download Full-text

Stereopsis and Depth Perception

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190264086.013.77 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrew J. Parker

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Visual Cortex ◽

Primary Visual Cortex ◽

Stereoscopic Vision ◽

Stereoscopic Depth ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Relative Depth ◽

Subsequent Work ◽

Binocular Depth

Humans and some animals can use their two eyes in cooperation to detect and discriminate parts of the visual scene based on depth. Owing to the horizontal separation of the eyes, each eye obtains a slightly different view of the scene in front of the head. These small differences are processed by the nervous system to generate a sense of binocular depth. As humans, we experience an impression of solidity that is fully three-dimensional; this impression is called stereopsis and is what we appreciate when we watch a 3D movie or look into a stereoscopic viewer. While the basic perceptual phenomena of stereoscopic vision have been known for some time, it is mainly within the last 50 years that we have gained an understanding of how the nervous system delivers this sense of depth. This period of research began with the identification of neuronal signals for binocular depth in the primary visual cortex. Building on that finding, subsequent work has traced the signaling pathways for binocular stereoscopic depth forward into extrastriate cortex and further on into cortical areas concerning with sensorimotor integration. Within these pathways, neurons acquire sensitivity to more complex, higher order aspects of stereoscopic depth. Signals relating to the relative depth of visual features can be identified in the extrastriate cortex, which is a form of selectivity not found in the primary visual cortex. Over the same time period, knowledge of the organization of binocular vision in animals that inhabit a wide diversity of ecological niches has substantially increased. The implications of these findings for developmental and adult plasticity of the visual nervous system and onset of the clinical condition of amblyopia are explored in this article. Amblyopic vision is associated with a cluster of different visual and oculomotor symptoms, but the loss of high-quality stereoscopic depth performance is one of the consistent clinical features. Understanding where and how those losses occur in the visual brain is an important goal of current research, for both scientific and clinical reasons.

Download Full-text