advertisement
Abstract #8303 Published in IGR 4-3
Neural responses in the primary visual cortex of the monkey during perceptual filling-in at the blind spot
Komatsu H; Kinoshita M; Murakami INeuroscience Research 2002; 44: 231-236
The phenomenon of perceptual filling-in demonstrates that physical stimuli presented on the retina do not necessarily correspond to surface perception, and that our visual system has mechanisms with which to interpolate missing information in order to construct continuous surfaces. Among its various forms, filling-in at the blind spot is one of the most remarkable. To study the neural mechanisms involved in filling-in at the blind spot, the authors recently conducted a recording experiment aimed at determining whether the neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) that represent the visual field corresponding to the blind spot are activated when filling-in occurs. They found that neurons located in deep layers of the V1, particularly layer 6, respond to large stimuli that cover the blind spot and induce perceptual filling-in. These neurons tended to have very large receptive fields, which extended out of the blind spot, and preferred relatively large stimuli. The authors believe that neurons in the V1 region representing the blind spot encode information essential for perceptual filling-in at the blind spot.
H. Komatsu, MD, Laboratory of Neural Control, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Myodaiji, Okazaki-shi, Aichi 444-8585, Japan. Komatsu@nips.ac.jp
Classification:
6.6.3 Special methods (e.g. color, contrast, SWAP etc.) (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.6 Visual field examination and other visual function tests)
