scholarly journals Subcortical Projections of Area V2 in the Macaque

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1220-1233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie G. Ungerleider ◽  
Thelma W. Galkin ◽  
Robert Desimone ◽  
Ricardo Gattass

To investigate the subcortical efferent connections of visual area V2, we injected tritiated amino acids under electrophysiological control into 15 V2 sites in 14 macaques. The injection sites included the fovea representation as well as representations ranging from central to far peripheral eccentricities in both the upper and lower visual fields. The results indicated that V2 projects topographically to different portions of the inferior and lateral pulvinar and to the superficial and intermediate layers of the superior colliculus. Within the pulvinar, the V2 projections terminated in fields P1, P2, and P4, with the strongest projection being in P2. Central visual field injections in V2 labeled projection zones in P1 and P2, whereas peripheral field injections labeled P1, P2, and P4. No projections were found in P3. Both central and peripheral field injections in V2 projected topographically to the superficial and intermediate layers of the superior colliculus. Projections from V2 to the pulvinar and the superior colliculus constituted cortical–subcortical loops through which circuits serving spatial attention are activated.

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Perdicchi ◽  
M. Iester ◽  
G. Scuderi ◽  
S. Amodeo ◽  
E.M. Medori ◽  
...  

Purpose To make a visual field retrospective analysis on a group of patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and to evaluate whether different refractive errors could have different progression of the 30° central sensitivity. Methods A total of 110 patients with POAG (52 men and 58 women) were included in the study. All the patients were divided into four subgroups based on the refractive error. The visual field of all the included patients was assessed by an Octopus 30° central visual field every 6 months, for a total of 837 visual fields examined. The resulting data were analyzed by PERIDATA for Windows 1.7 TREND function. Mean defect (MD) and loss variance (LV) were considered for the analysis. Results At the first examination, 82% of eyes showed a global decrease of differential light sensitivity (MD >2 dB) and in 67% the distribution of the defect was nonhomogeneous (LV >6 dB). The analysis of variance for subgroups showed a more significant decrease of MD in highly myopic patients. A linear regression analysis highlighted a statistically significant change in time of MD in 36% and of LV in 34% of the eyes studied. Highly myopic patients had the highest (p<0.01) percentage of change of MD and LV (46% and 42%, respectively). Among the four subgroups, there was no difference in progression of MD decrease in time. Conclusions These results showed that after 5 years of glaucoma, the visual field was altered in most of the eyes examined (82%) and that in 67% of cases, its defect was nonhomogeneous and worsened with the increase of myopia. The regression linear analysis of visual field changes in time showed a progressive increase of MD and LV in approximately one third of all the eyes examined.


1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 722-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Mohler ◽  
R. H. Wurtz

1. We investigated the characteristics of cells in the intermediate layers of the superior colliculus that increase their rate of discharge before saccadic eye movements. Eye movements were repeatedly elicited by training rhesus monkeys to fixate on a spot of light and to make saccades to other spots of light when the fixation spot was turned off. 2. The eye movement cells showed consistent variations with their depth within the colliculus. The onset of the cell discharge led the eye movement by less time and the duration of the discharge was shorter as the cell was located closer to the dorsal edge of the intermediate layers. The movements fields (that area of the visual field where a saccade into the area is preceded by a burst of cell discharges) of each successive cell also became smaller as the cells were located more dorsally. The profile of peak discharge frequency remained fairly flat throughout the movement field of the cells regardless of depth of the cell within the colliculus. 3. A new type of eye movement-related cell has been found which usually lies at the border between the superficial and intermediate layers. This cell type, the visually triggered movement cell, increased its rate of discharge before saccades made to a visual stimulus but not before spontaneous saccades of equal amplitude made in the light or the dark. A vigorous discharge of these cells before an eye movement was dependent on the presence of a visual target; the cells seemed to combine the visual input of superficial layer cells and the movement-related input of the intermediate layer cells. The size of the movement fields of these cells were about the same size as the visual fields of superficial layer cells just above them...


2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 2491-2503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith A. Schneider ◽  
Sabine Kastner

The superior colliculus (SC) is a multimodal laminar structure located on the roof of the brain stem. The SC is a key structure in a distributed network of areas that mediate saccadic eye movements and shifts of attention across the visual field and has been extensively studied in nonhuman primates. In humans, it has proven difficult to study the SC with functional MRI (fMRI) because of its small size, deep location, and proximity to pulsating vascular structures. Here, we performed a series of high-resolution fMRI studies at 3 T to investigate basic visual response properties of the SC. The retinotopic organization of the SC was determined using the traveling wave method with flickering checkerboard stimuli presented at different polar angles and eccentricities. SC activations were confined to stimulation of the contralateral hemifield. Although a detailed retinotopic map was not observed, across subjects, the upper and lower visual fields were represented medially and laterally, respectively. Responses were dominantly evoked by stimuli presented along the horizontal meridian of the visual field. We also measured the sensitivity of the SC to luminance contrast, which has not been previously reported in primates. SC responses were nearly saturated by low contrast stimuli and showed only small response modulation with higher contrast stimuli, indicating high sensitivity to stimulus contrast. Responsiveness to stimulus motion in the SC was shown by robust activations evoked by moving versus static dot stimuli that could not be attributed to eye movements. The responses to contrast and motion stimuli were compared with those in the human lateral geniculate nucleus. Our results provide first insights into basic visual responses of the human SC and show the feasibility of studying subcortical structures using high-resolution fMRI.


1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Quevedo ◽  
K.-P. Hoffmann ◽  
R. Husemann ◽  
C. Distler

AbstractWe have examined the retinotopy in the superior colliculus of pigmented and albino ferrets using both anatomical and electrophysiological methods. While the distribution of contralaterally projecting retinotectal ganglion cells is characterized by the presence of an area centralis superimposed on a visual streak in both strains, the ipsilateral projection from temporal hemiretina is strongly reduced in albinos. In spite of the significantly altered retinotectal projection pattern, the collicular visual field map in the albino ferret reveals the same characteristics as in the pigmented animal with a strongly enlarged representation of the center of visual space. An areal comparison between retinotectal ganglion cell distribution and collicular areal magnification shows that the increase in areal magnification factor between the periphery and the representation of the central visual hemifield exceeds the corresponding increase in retinal ganglion cell density between peripheral retina and area centralis by a factor of three in pigmented and a factor of four in albino ferrets. The areal magnification factor of the representation of the retinal visual streak does not exceed the increase in retinotectal ganglion cell density. Thus, our results suggest that the representation of visual space in the superior colliculus of albino and pigmented ferrets does not simply follow the retinotectal ganglion cell density, but that there is an enhanced representation of the frontal central visual field. The possibility is discussed that the collicular visual field map may be determined either by both retinotectal and corticotectal projections or by the colliculus' intrinsic structure.


1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1656-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sherk

1. The aim of these experiments was to analyze the organization of the reciprocal connections between the cat's superior colliculus and parabigeminal nucleus. Both physiological and anatomical techniques were employed. 2. A population of cells in the superficial gray and upper optic layers of the colliculus was labeled retrogradely by horseradish peroxidase injections into the parabigeminal nucleus. No other sources of input to the nucleus were found in the brain stem or diencephalon. 3. A map of the visual field within the parabigeminal nucleus was reconstructed by plotting visual receptive fields at 350 parabigeminal sites with microelectrodes. The map resembled that found in the colliculus, although it was considerably less orderly. The entire contralateral visual field was represented and, in addition, roughly the central 40 degrees of the ipsilateral hemifield was included; futhermore, the expansion of the central visual field was similar to that of the tectal map. 4. The return parabigeminal projections to the caudal parts of the two colliculi, representing the contralateral hemifields, were in register with the tectal visual-field maps. In contrast, the parabigeminal pathways to the anterior segments of the two colliculi, representing part of the ipsilateral visual fields, were not clearly topographic. The projection to this part of the contralateral colliculus showed little order, while that to the ipsilateral colliculus was extremely sparse. 5. A single site in the colliculus can be the target of axons from nonhomologous locations in the two parabigeminal nuclei; so that both parabigeminal inputs are in register with the tectal map.


2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 747-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soichi Ando ◽  
Noriyuki Kida ◽  
Shingo Oda

The present study examined whether EMG-RT (KT) for a key press to stimulus in peripheral and central visual fields decreases with practice. 16 male students were divided into two groups, one practicing using peripheral vision, the other practicing using central vision. Before and after practice, RT was measured for peripheral and central visual fields. Each group practiced three blocks of 25 trials five days a week for three weeks. RT for peripheral and central visual fields decreased with practice. Practice effects on RT for the peripheral visual field extended to RT for the central visual field, and vice versa. It is suggested that the transfer may reflect the decrease in the central nervous system's processing time in common between two RT tasks.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261129
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Takeshima

Audio-visual integration relies on temporal synchrony between visual and auditory inputs. However, differences in traveling and transmitting speeds between visual and auditory stimuli exist; therefore, audio-visual synchrony perception exhibits flexible functions. The processing speed of visual stimuli affects the perception of audio-visual synchrony. The present study examined the effects of visual fields, in which visual stimuli are presented, for the processing of audio-visual temporal synchrony. The point of subjective simultaneity, the temporal binding window, and the rapid recalibration effect were measured using temporal order judgment, simultaneity judgment, and stream/bounce perception, because different mechanisms of temporal processing have been suggested among these three paradigms. The results indicate that auditory stimuli should be presented earlier for visual stimuli in the central visual field than in the peripheral visual field condition in order to perceive subjective simultaneity in the temporal order judgment task conducted in this study. Meanwhile, the subjective simultaneity bandwidth was broader in the central visual field than in the peripheral visual field during the simultaneity judgment task. In the stream/bounce perception task, neither the point of subjective simultaneity nor the temporal binding window differed between the two types of visual fields. Moreover, rapid recalibration occurred in both visual fields during the simultaneity judgment tasks. However, during the temporal order judgment task and stream/bounce perception, rapid recalibration occurred only in the central visual field. These results suggest that differences in visual processing speed based on the visual field modulate the temporal processing of audio-visual stimuli. Furthermore, these three tasks, temporal order judgment, simultaneity judgment, and stream/bounce perception, each have distinct functional characteristics for audio-visual synchrony perception. Future studies are necessary to confirm the effects of compensation regarding differences in the temporal resolution of the visual field in later cortical visual pathways on visual field differences in audio-visual temporal synchrony.


1984 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 514-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Kalil ◽  
P. D. Spear ◽  
A. Langsetmo

Recordings were made from striate cortex in five groups of cats that had been raised with strabismus produced by sectioning the extraocular muscles. These groups included animals reared with exotropia, unilateral or bilateral esotropia, and esotropia combined with lid suture of the unoperated eye. In addition, a group of esotropes was studied in which the unoperated eye was removed a few hours prior to recording. For comparison, five normal adult cats were also studied. In each of the above groups, cells were sampled in the representations of the central and peripheral visual fields in area 17 ipsilateral and contralateral to the deviated eye. We mapped the receptive field of each responsive cell, determined its ocularity, and tested it for selectivity. Confirming previous work, we found a marked loss of cortical binocularity in cats raised with strabismus. On average only 7% of the neurons that we recorded could be driven by both eyes. This percentage was relatively constant at all cortical locations that were studied and was not influenced by whether cats had been reared with exotropia, unilateral esotropia, or bilateral esotropia. The percentage of selective cells driven by the deviated eye in exotropes or esotropes did not appear to be different from normal at most cortical locations (but see 5, below). In addition, we did not observe any bias in the axial preference of selective cells in strabismic cats when compared with normal adult cats. In both exotropes and esotropes the deviated eye drove fewer cells when compared with the proportion that are driven by one eye in normal cats. In exotropes this deficit did not vary at different cortical representations of the visual field. In esotropes, however, this deficit was graded, being least in the representation of the peripheral visual field in area 17 contralateral to the deviated eye, intermediate in the representations of the central visual field in the contralateral and ipsilateral hemispheres, and greatest in the representation of the peripheral visual field in ipsilateral area 17. Furthermore, only when recording from the peripheral field representation in the ipsilateral hemisphere did we encounter significant numbers of cells driven by the deviated eye that lacked normal selectivity. Since it is possible that deprivation of the converged eye during development might account for the deficits noted above, we attempted to evaluate this factor using several independent lines of evidence. First, we could find no correlation between the angle of esotropia and the ability of the deviated eye to drive ipsilateral cortical cells representing the peripheral visual field.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-288
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Takahashi ◽  
Makoto Itoh ◽  
◽  

This paper proposes a method for prompting drivers’ spatial attention by presenting visual cue in their peripheral visual field. Computer-generated images of forward-facing driving scenes were projected on a screen 6 m wide and 1.8 m high, with a 140° viewing angle. The gaze movement of subjects was measured when hazardous events were presented, such as cardboard boxes collapsing onto the road or a child running out into the road. The task defined for the subjects was to detect visual cue presented in their central visual field while observing the driving scene in front of them. A preceding visual cue was presented in the right and left visual fields, at a visual angle of 10° to 40°, for 1–5 s in advance of the visual cue presented in the center of the visual field. The detection time for the visual cue in the central visual field was then measured. The results of the experiments conducted with six subjects revealed two types of gaze movement patterns with respect to a hazardous event. In one type, the subjects broadly captured the overall scene without shifting their gaze markedly; in the other type, the subjects sequentially scanned the scene and fixed their gaze on the hazardous event when it occurred. The former type tended to be seen in subjects with long driving experience. It was also found that presenting visual cue in the peripheral visual field quickened recognition of the visual cue in the central visual field. By varying the viewing angle at which the preceding cue was presented in the peripheral visual field and the time interval between the presentation of the preceding cue and the detection cue in the central visual field, conditions were found for assisting prompt detection of the latter visual cue.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document