Dataset Information

The retinotopic organization of striate cortex is well predicted by surface topology.

ABSTRACT: In 1918, Gordon Holmes combined observations of visual-field scotomas across brain-lesioned soldiers to produce a schematic map of the projection of the visual field upon the striate cortex. One limit to the precision of his result, and the mapping of anatomy to retinotopy generally, is the substantial individual variation in the size, volumetric position, and cortical magnification of area V1. When viewed within the context of the curvature of the cortical surface, however, the boundaries of striate cortex fall at a consistent location across individuals. We asked whether the surface topology of the human brain can be used to accurately predict the internal, retinotopic function of striate cortex as well. We used fMRI to measure polar angle and eccentricity in 25 participants and combined their maps within a left-right, transform-symmetric representation of the cortical surface. These data were then fit using a deterministic, algebraic model of visual-field representation. We found that an anatomical image alone can be used to predict the retinotopic organization of striate cortex for an individual with accuracy equivalent to 10-25 min of functional mapping. This indicates tight developmental linkage of structure and function within a primary, sensory cortical area.

SUBMITTER: Benson NC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3494819 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The retinotopic organization of striate cortex is well predicted by surface topology.

Benson Noah C NC Butt Omar H OH Datta Ritobrato R Radoeva Petya D PD Brainard David H DH Aguirre Geoffrey K GK

Current biology : CB 20121004 21

In 1918, Gordon Holmes combined observations of visual-field scotomas across brain-lesioned soldiers to produce a schematic map of the projection of the visual field upon the striate cortex. One limit to the precision of his result, and the mapping of anatomy to retinotopy generally, is the substantial individual variation in the size, volumetric position, and cortical magnification of area V1. When viewed within the context of the curvature of the cortical surface, however, the boundaries of st ...[more]

PMID: 23041195

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Project description:Is visual input during critical periods of development crucial for the emergence of the fundamental topographical mapping of the visual cortex? And would this structure be retained throughout life-long blindness or would it fade as a result of plastic, use-based reorganization? We used functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging based on intrinsic blood oxygen level-dependent fluctuations to investigate whether significant traces of topographical mapping of the visual scene in the form of retinotopic organization, could be found in congenitally blind adults. A group of 11 fully and congenitally blind subjects and 18 sighted controls were studied. The blind demonstrated an intact functional connectivity network structural organization of the three main retinotopic mapping axes: eccentricity (centre-periphery), laterality (left-right), and elevation (upper-lower) throughout the retinotopic cortex extending to high-level ventral and dorsal streams, including characteristic eccentricity biases in face- and house-selective areas. Functional connectivity-based topographic organization in the visual cortex was indistinguishable from the normally sighted retinotopic functional connectivity structure as indicated by clustering analysis, and was found even in participants who did not have a typical retinal development in utero (microphthalmics). While the internal structural organization of the visual cortex was strikingly similar, the blind exhibited profound differences in functional connectivity to other (non-visual) brain regions as compared to the sighted, which were specific to portions of V1. Central V1 was more connected to language areas but peripheral V1 to spatial attention and control networks. These findings suggest that current accounts of critical periods and experience-dependent development should be revisited even for primary sensory areas, in that the connectivity basis for visual cortex large-scale topographical organization can develop without any visual experience and be retained through life-long experience-dependent plasticity. Furthermore, retinotopic divisions of labour, such as that between the visual cortex regions normally representing the fovea and periphery, also form the basis for topographically-unique plastic changes in the blind.

Project description:Primates have specialized domains in inferior temporal (IT) cortex that are responsive to particular image categories. Though IT traditionally has been regarded as lacking retinotopy, several recent studies in monkeys have shown that retinotopic maps extend to face patches along the lower bank of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and neighboring regions of IT cortex. Here, we used fMRI to map the retinotopic organization of medial ventral temporal cortex in four monkeys (2 male and 2 female). We confirm the presence of visual field maps within and around the lower bank of the STS and extend these prior findings to scene-selective cortex in the ventral-most regions of IT. Within the occipitotemporal sulcus (OTS), we identified two retinotopic areas, OTS1 and OTS2. The polar angle representation of OTS2 was a mirror reversal of the OTS1 representation. These regions contained representations of the contralateral periphery and were selectively active for scene versus face, body, or object images. The extent of this retinotopy parallels that in humans and shows that the organization of the scene network is preserved across primate species. In addition retinotopic maps were identified in dorsal extrastriate, posterior parietal, and frontal cortex as well as the thalamus, including both the lateral geniculate nucleus and pulvinar. Together, it appears that most, if not all, of the macaque visual system contains organized representations of visual space.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Primates have specialized domains in inferior temporal (IT) cortex that are responsive to particular image categories. Though retinotopic maps are considered a fundamental organizing principle of posterior visual cortex, IT traditionally has been regarded as lacking retinotopy. Recent imaging studies have demonstrated the presence of several visual field maps within the lateral IT. Using neuroimaging, we found multiple representations of visual space within ventral IT cortex of macaques that included scene-selective cortex. Scene domains were biased toward the peripheral visual field. These data demonstrate the prevalence of visual field maps throughout the primate visual system, including late stages in the ventral visual hierarchy, and support the idea that domains representing different categories are biased toward different parts of the visual field.

Dataset Information

The retinotopic organization of striate cortex is well predicted by surface topology.

Publications

The retinotopic organization of striate cortex is well predicted by surface topology.

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