Chapter 22: Retinotopic order and functional organization in a region of suprasylvian visual cortex, the Clare-Bishop area

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the functional organization in a region of suprasylvian visual cortex, the Clare-Bishop area. An area of visual cortex is equated with a single representation of the visual hemifield. The extensive visual cortex on the banks of the cat's suprasylvian sulcus is subdivided on this basis into a mosaic of eight distinct areas, using conventional physiological mapping methods. On the other hand, it is also assumed that a cortical area can be characterized by its set of extrinsic connections: all parts of an area should be connected to the same set of thalamic and cortical regions. In an earlier study of the suprasylvian cortex, it is found that a connectional approach yielded a different set of cortical areas than those defined by physiological mapping. One of these, referred in the chapter as the Clare-Bishop area is of particular interest because of its strong input from area 17.