Cortical Visual Systems Research Articles

From Motion to Emotion: Visual Pathways and Potential Interconnections.

The two visual pathway description of [Ungerleider, L. G., & Mishkin, M. Two cortical visual systems. In D. J. Dingle, M. A. Goodale, & R. J. W. Mansfield (Eds.), Analysis of visual behavior (pp. 549-586). Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1982] changed the course of late 20th century systems and cognitive neuroscience. Here, I try to reexamine our laboratory's work through the lens of the [Pitcher, D., & Ungerleider, L. G. Evidence for a third visual pathway specialized for social perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25, 100-110, 2021] new third visual pathway. I also briefly review the literature related to brain responses to static and dynamic visual displays, visual stimulation involving multiple individuals, and compare existing models of social information processing for the face and body. In this context, I examine how the posterior STS might generate unique social information relative to other brain regions that also respond to social stimuli. I discuss some of the existing challenges we face with assessing how information flow progresses between structures in the proposed functional pathways and how some stimulus types and experimental designs may have complicated our data interpretation and model generation. I also note a series of outstanding questions for the field. Finally, I examine the idea of a potential expansion of the third visual pathway, to include aspects of previously proposed "lateral" visual pathways. Doing this would yield a more general entity for processing motion/action (i.e., "[inter]action") that deals with interactions between people, as well as people and objects. In this framework, a brief discussion of potential hemispheric biases for function, and different forms of neuropsychological impairments created by focal lesions in the posterior brain is highlighted to help situate various brain regions into an expanded [inter]action pathway.

A narrative review of cortical visual prosthesis systems: the latest progress and significance of nanotechnology for the future.

Background and ObjectiveWe sought to review the latest developments in cortical visual prosthesis (CVP) systems and the significance of nanotechnology for the future. Over the past century, CVP systems have been researched and developed, resulting in various unique surgical and mechanical techniques. Research findings indicate that partial vision recovery is possible, with improvements in coarse target functions and performance in routine activities.MethodsThis review discusses the architecture and physiology of the visual cortex, the neuroplasticity of the blind brain, and the history of CVP development, and also provides an update on the CVP systems currently being examined in research and clinical trials. Due to advances in nanotechnology, it is possible to make CVPs that are smaller, more efficient, and more biocompatible than ever before.Key Content and FindingsCurrently, 3 CVPs have entered clinical trials, and several additional systems are undergoing preclinical reviews to determine the safety of the devices for chronic implantation. This development provides the first indication that the area of cortical vision restoration medication may be able to meaningfully benefit blind people. However, several significant technical and biological challenges need to be solved before the gap between artificial and natural eyesight can be reconciled. Rapid breakthroughs in nanotechnology have considerably increased its use in biological domains.ConclusionsThis paper summarizes the recent progress of CVP in recent years and its future development direction. It is forecasted that nanotechnology can provide better technical support for the development of CVP.

Altered Resting State Functional Activity of Brain Regions in Neovascular Glaucoma: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Background: Neovascular glaucoma (NVG) is a serious eye disease that causes irreversible damage to the eye. It can significantly increase intraocular pressure and cause severe pain, as well as abnormal activity in the cortical and pre-cortical visual systems. However, there are few studies in this area. This trial assessed the altered regional brain activity in patients with NVG using the percentage of fluctuation amplitude (PerAF) method.Methods: Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) scans were conducted in 18 individuals with NVG and 18 healthy controls (HCs), matched for education level, gender, and age. The PerAF method was applied to assess brain activity. Mean PerAF values of brain regions in NVG and HCs were compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Results: Lower PerAF values were found in the NVG group than in controls in the right anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri (ACG.R), right superior occipital gyrus (SOG.R) and left superior frontal gyrus (orbital part) (ORBsup.L) (p < 0.001). In contrast, PerAF value was higher in NVG patients than in controls in the left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.L) (p < 0.001). The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and visual analog score (VAS) were significantly and positively correlated with PerAF in ITG.L (r = 0.9331, p < 0.0001; and r = 0.7816, p = 0.0001, respectively).Conclusion: Abnormal activity in the patient’s brain regions further confirms that the NVG affects the entire brain, not just the visual pathways and posterior retinal mechanisms (including the hypothalamic lateral geniculate nucleus and the primary visual cortex). This strengthens our understanding of the NVG and provides potential diagnostic and therapeutic support for patients who are difficult to diagnose and treat early.

Optic Ataxia: From Balint’s Syndrome to the Parietal Reach Region

Optic ataxia is a high-order deficit in reaching to visual goals that occurs with posterior parietal cortex (PPC) lesions. It is a component of Balint's syndrome that also includes attentional and gaze disorders. Aspects of optic ataxia are misreaching in the contralesional visual field, difficulty preshaping the hand for grasping, and an inability to correct reaches online. Recent research in nonhuman primates (NHPs) suggests that many aspects of Balint's syndrome and optic ataxia are a result of damage to specific functional modules for reaching, saccades, grasp, attention, and state estimation. The deficits from large lesions in humans are probably composite effects from damage to combinations of these functional modules. Interactions between these modules, either within posterior parietal cortex or downstream within frontal cortex, may account for more complex behaviors such as hand-eye coordination and reach-to-grasp.

The Effect of Visual and Cerebellar Exercises on Dyslexia

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article LettersFull AccessThe Effect of Visual and Cerebellar Exercises on DyslexiaMona Delavarian, M.D., G. Ali Afrooz, M.D., and Shahriar Gharibzadeh, M.D., Ph.D.Mona DelavarianSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., G. Ali AfroozSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., and Shahriar GharibzadehSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ph.D.Published Online:1 Jan 2013https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.12020035AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail To the Editor: Reading disorder, or dyslexia, affects at least 5% of school-age children.1 This disorder has a genetic basis. The learning difficulties in these persons are unexpected according to age and cognitive or academic abilities.2The exact etiology of dyslexia is unknown. Some studies have declared that the visual magnocellular system of the lateral geniculate nucleus is immature in dyslexics.3,4 This immaturity leads to a reduction in their motion sensitivity, which causes deficiency in identifying the visual order of letters and the visual form of the words.3It should be noticed that the cerebellums of dyslexics have some anatomical, metabolic, and activation differences in some brain-imaging studies.2 There is a powerful hypothesis about this dysfunction, which claims that dysfunction of the cerebellum in dyslexics leads to motor and cognitive problems associated with reading.2 Impaired balance and time perception in studies on people with learning disability confirm the differences in cerebellum functions also.2Based on the abovementioned evidences, one of the most important parts impaired in dyslexia is the visual magnocellular system. We hypothesized that visual stimulation in a dark room will excite the visual magnocellular system, and in this way the cerebellum will be affected too, because the cerebellum receives many inputs from various magnocellular systems.3 It is also believed that general magnocellular defects affect the cerebellum.2 By stimulating the dorsal tract of visual magnocellular system (this tract seems to gradually develop through neuro-plasticity) and by visual stimulation, visual attention and eye movements following the letters will be improved because the visual magnocellular system plays the main part in controlling these two items. It is suggested that the stimulus presents as searching and tracking a radiant object to improve visual tracking and visual attention. Adding cerebellum rehabilitation leads to 1) increasing attention;5 and 2) improving equilibrium,6 which are both impaired in individuals with learning disorder, especially in dyslexia. It is recommended that the cerebellum and vision stimulations be done simultaneously through sensory-integration exercises so that it will be more effective on functional improvement. Surely, for confirming this hypothesis, larger clinical trials are needed.Faculty of Psychology and Education University of Tehran, Iran, TehranBiomedical Engineering Faculty Amirkabir University of Technology Iran, TehranReferences1 Sadock BJ, Sadock VA: Kaplan & Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry, 10th Edition. Baltimore, MD, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007Google Scholar2 Sadock BJ, Sadock VA: Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 8th Edition, Vol II. Baltimore, MD, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005Google Scholar3 John Stein: The magnocellular theory of developmental dyslexia. Dyslexia 2001; 7:12–36Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar4 Ungerleider LG, Mishkin M: Two Cortical Visual Systems. Edited by Ingle DJ, Goodale, MA. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.1982Google Scholar5 Mansfield RJ (ed): The Analysis of Visual Behavior. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, pp 549–586Google Scholar6 Delavarian M, Gharibzadeh S: The role of cerebellar rehabilitation in improvement of ADHD imbalance. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2011; 23:E34Link, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByEffects of oculomotor rehabilitation on the cognitive performance of dyslexic children with concurrent eye movement abnormalities21 July 2020 | Early Child Development and Care, Vol. 192, No. 4 Volume 25Issue 1 Winter 2013Pages E31-E31 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 January 2013 Published in print 1 January 2013

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The distribution of category and location information across object-selective regions in human visual cortex

Since Ungerleider and Mishkin [Underleider LG, Mishkin M (1982) Two cortical visual systems. Analysis of Visual Behavior, eds Ingle MA, Goodale MI, Masfield RJW (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA), pp 549-586] proposed separate visual pathways for processing object shape and location, steady progress has been made in characterizing the organization of the two kinds of information in extrastriate visual cortex in humans. However, to date, there has been no broad-based survey of category and location information across all major functionally defined object-selective regions. In this study, we used an fMRI region-of-interest (ROI) approach to identify eight regions characterized by their strong selectivity for particular object categories (faces, scenes, bodies, and objects). Participants viewed four types of stimuli (faces, scenes, bodies, and cars) appearing in each of three different spatial locations (above, below, or at fixation). Analyses based on the mean response and voxelwise patterns of response in each ROI reveal location information in almost all of the known object-selective regions. Furthermore, category and location information can be read out independently of one another such that most regions contain both position-invariant category information and category-invariant position information. Finally, we find substantially more location information in ROIs on the lateral than those on the ventral surface of the brain, even though these regions have equal amounts of category information. Although the presence of both location and category information in most object-selective regions argues against a strict physical separation of processing streams for object shape and location, the ability to extract position-invariant category information and category-invariant position information from the same neural population indicates that form and location information nonetheless remain functionally independent.

Reduced parietal and visual cortical activation during global processing in Williams syndrome

Several lines of investigation suggest that individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), a neurodevelopmental disorder of well-characterized genetic etiology, have selective impairments in integrating local image elements into global configurations. We compared global processing abilities in 10 clinically and genetically diagnosed participants with WS (eight females, two males; mean age 31y 10mo [SD 9y 7mo], range 15y 5mo-48y 4mo) with a typically developed (TD) age- and sex-matched comparison group (seven females, one male; mean age 35y 2mo [SD 10y 10mo], range 24y-54y 7mo) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behavioral data showed participants with WS to be significantly less accurate (p<0.042) together with a non-significant trend to be slower than the TD comparison group while performing the global processing task. fMRI data showed participants with WS to possess reduced activation in the visual and parietal cortices. Participants with WS also showed relatively normal activation in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, but elevated activation in several posterior thalamic nuclei. These preliminary results largely confirm previous research findings and neural models implicating neurodevelopmental abnormalities in extended subcortical and cortical visual systems in WS, most notably dorsal-stream pathways.

Integrating constructivist and ecological approaches

Norman relates two theoretical approaches, the constructivist and ecological, to two cortical visual streams, the ventral and dorsal systems, respectively. This commentary reviews a similar approach in order to increase our understanding of complex skill development and to advance Norman's goal of stimulating and guiding research on the two theoretical approaches and the two visual systems.

Defining the cortical visual systems: “What”, “Where”, and “How”

The visual system historically has been defined as consisting of at least two broad subsystems subserving object and spatial vision. These visual processing streams have been organized both structurally as two distinct pathways in the brain, and functionally for the types of tasks that they mediate. The classic definition by Ungerleider and Mishkin labeled a ventral “what” stream to process object information and a dorsal “where” stream to process spatial information. More recently, Goodale and Milner redefined the two visual systems with a focus on the different ways in which visual information is transformed for different goals. They relabeled the dorsal stream as a “how” system for transforming visual information using an egocentric frame of reference in preparation for direct action. This paper reviews recent research from psychophysics, neurophysiology, neuropsychology and neuroimaging to define the roles of the ventral and dorsal visual processing streams. We discuss a possible solution that allows for both “where” and “how” systems that are functionally and structurally organized within the posterior parietal lobe.

Neuropsychological studies of perception and visuomotor control.

According to recent conceptualizations, there are two separate cortical visual systems--each with its own distinctive cortical and subcortical links--and these two systems respectively serve the functions of perception and of motor control. These ideas have been arrived at through a confluence of neuroanatomical, electrophysiological, behavioural, and neuropsychological research. It is proposed that this distinction between two broad purposes of vision and their neural bases can provide useful working procedures for analysing both: (i) the nature of visuomotor processing in the normal brain; and also (ii) the abnormal patterns of visual processing that are seen in certain neurological conditions.

Comparative perspectives on multiple cortical visual systems

ELLARD C. G. Comparative perspectives on multiple cortical visual systems NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV 22(2), 173–180, 1998.—This paper argues that any effort to extend theories of cortical visual systems based on primates to other orders, such as Rodentia, must take into account fundamental differences in visual system properties, such as retinal organization. Some examples are given of the effects of these differences, describing several studies using gerbils in which problems in object recognition appear to be solved using unique methods based on navigational information. I conclude by suggesting that closer consideration of comparative issues in visual cortical processing might lead to new insights regarding the evolutionary origins of object recognition as it is understood in humans and other primates, and I suggest that these evolutionary antecedents might help to explain the apparent linkage in humans between object recognition and movement.

Two cortical visual systems for axis-orientation discrimination in perception and hand movement

Two cortical visual systems for axis-orientation discrimination in perception and hand movement

Issues in Preventive Intervention Research

Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 76,492-504(1990). 7. See also N. Kanwisher and J. Driver, Ob jects, attributes, and visual attention: Which, what, and where, Current Directions in Psychological Sci ence, 1, 26-31 (1992); S.P. Tipper, J. Driver, and B. Weaver, Object-centred inhibition of return of vi sual attention, The Quarterly Journal of Experimen tal Psychology, 43A, 289-298 (1991). 8. S.P. Tipper and J. Driver, Negative priming between pictures and words: Evidence for semantic analysis of ignored stimuli, Memory and Cognition, 16, 64-70 (1988); S.P. Tipper, G. MacQueen, and J. Brehaut, Negative priming between response mo dalities: Evidence for the central locus of inhibition in selective attention, Perception and Psychophys ics, 43,45-52 (1988). 9. S.P. Tipper, C. Lortie, and G.C. Baylis, Se lective reaching: Evidence for action-centered atten tion, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (in press). 10. L.G. Ungerleider and M. Mishkin, Two cor tical visual systems, in Analysis of Visual Behavior, D.J. Ingle, M.A. Goodale, and R.J.W. Mansfield, Eds. (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1982). 11. A. Beech, T. Powell, J. McWilliams, and G. Claridge, Evidence for reduced cognitive inhibi tion in schizophrenia, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 109-116 (1989); L. Hasher, E.R. Stoltzfus, R.T. Zacks, and B. Rympa, Age and inhi bition, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learn ing, Memory, and Cognition, 17, 163-169 (1991); S.P. Tipper, Less attentional selectivity as a result of declining inhibition in older adults, Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 29, 45-47 (1991). 12. G. Houghton and S.P. Tipper, A model of the dynamics of selective attention, in Inhibitory Mechanisms of Attention, Memory and Language, D. Dagenbach and T. Carr, Eds. (Academic Press, Orlando, FL, in press). 13. M. Taffe, B.O. Moore, S.P. Tipper, and G.C. Baylis, Action-based spatial attention in nor mal and hippocampal lesioned monkeys, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 18, 479.9 (1991).

Frames of reference for allocating attention to space: Evidence from the neglect syndrome

With respect to what frames of reference, or spatial coordinate systems, is attention allocated to locations in space? We posed this question about the spatial attention system that has been damaged in neglect patients, distinguishing among three possible types of spatial reference frame: viewer-centered, according to which locations are coded with respect to the viewer, environment-centered, according to which locations are coded with respect to the environment, and object-centered, according to which locations are coded with respect to an object. The three candidate frames of reference were decoupled from one another by rotating either the viewer or the stimulus object. Visual search performance suggested that the neglected hemifield was defined with respect to both viewer-centered and environment-centered frames of reference, but not with respect to an object-centered frame of reference. The role of objects in the allocation of attention to space, and the relation between our findings and the “two cortical visual systems” hypothesis, are discussed.

Why are “What” and “Where” Processed by Separate Cortical Visual Systems? A Computational Investigation

In the primate visual system, the identification of objects and the processing of spatial information are accomplished by different cortical pathways. The computational properties of this "two-systems" design were explored by constructing simplifying connectionist models. The models were designed to simultaneously classify and locate shapes that could appear in multiple positions in a matrix, and the ease of forming representations of the two kinds of information was measured. Some networks were designed so that all hidden nodes projected to all output nodes, whereas others had the hidden nodes split into two groups, with some projecting to the output nodes that registered shape identity and the remainder projecting to the output nodes that registered location. The simulations revealed that splitting processing into separate streams for identifying and locating a shape led to better performance only under some circumstances. Provided that enough computational resources were available in both streams, split networks were able to develop more efficient internal representations, as revealed by detailed analyses of the patterns of weights between connections.

Chapter 27: Two cortical visual systems in Old World and New World primates

This chapter focuses on two cortical visual systems in Old World and New World primates. Visual cortex is divided into multiple subdivisions, or areas, in the brains of advanced mammals such as primates. Each visual area has a distinctive and complex pattern of cortical connections. A valuable insight was made by Ungerleider and Mishkin that connection between areas of visual cortex in macaque monkeys form two major diverging pathways. Both pathways originate at the level of cortex from striate cortex. One pathway relays through a number of areas rostra1 to striate cortex and terminates in cortex of the posterior parietal lobe. The other pathway relays through a number of different areas and terminates in inferior temporal cortex. The results of more recent studies of cortical connections in macaque monkeys, when compared with those from three different species of New World monkeys and one Old World prosimian primate, suggest the hypothesis that processing streams directed toward posterior parietal and inferior temporal cortex exist in all primates.

Chapter 1: Anatomical organization of the superior colliculus in monkeys: corticotectal pathways for visual and visuomotor functions

Publisher Summary The purpose of this chapter is to discuss aspects of the anatomical organization of the superior colliculus in monkeys. The chapter also attempts to relate dual collicular functions to afferents from cortical visual and visuomotor systems. The superior colliculus has important links with systems for both visual perception and visuomotor functions. The anatomical basis for dual functions of the superior colliculus appears to lie in the well-documented connectional differences between the superficial and deep collicular compartments. Much progress has recently been made in the understanding of the numbers and interconnections of separate cortical areas, and more sensitive anatomical methods have permitted refinements in some of the observations on corticotectal projections. Projections of both posterior parietal and inferotemporal cortex appear to be mainly to the deeper layers, as are inputs from visuomotor areas of cortex. Thus, collicular visual and visuomotor compartments are closely linked with cortical perceptual and motor systems, respectively. In addition, the chapter also presents the new findings on visual corticotectal projections in squirrel monkeys.

Deficits in human visual spatial attention following thalamic lesions.

There has been speculation concerning the role that thalamic nuclei play in directing attention to locations in visual space [Crick, F. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 4586-4590]. We measured covert shifts of visual attention in three patients with unilateral thalamic hemorrhages shortly after the lesion and after a 6-month recovery period. The experiment measured reaction time to targets that occurred at locations to which attention had been cued (valid trials) or at a currently unattended location (invalid trials). Although the patients showed no deficits in visual fields with perimetry and no neglect in the 6-month follow-up, we found slow reaction times for targets on the side contralateral to the lesion whether or not attention had been cued to that location. Deficits have also been found in this task with cortical and midbrain lesions, but the patterns of performance are quite different. The results with thalamic patients suggest they have a specific deficit in the ability to use attention to improve the efficiency of processing visual targets contralateral to the lesion (engage operation). This finding is in accord with hypotheses of a thalamic link between cortical visual attention and pattern recognition systems proposed by Crick.

Subdivisions and connections of inferior temporal cortex in owl monkeys.

Patterns of cortical connections and differences in architectonic appearance were used to subdivide inferior temporal cortex of owl monkeys into four main regions. These regions were named by location: ITC (the caudal subdivision of inferior temporal cortex), ITR (the rostral subdivision of inferior temporal cortex), ITP (the polar subdivision of inferior temporal cortex), and ITM (the medial subdivision of inferior temporal cortex). Two of these regions may contain further subdivisions--ITC, separate dorsal and ventral areas, and ITM, medial and lateral areas. The most caudal subdivision, ITC, was defined in an earlier report (Weller and Kaas: J. Comp. Neurol. 234:35-59, '85) as the projection zone of the dorsolateral visual area (DL). ITC occupies roughly the caudal half of the architectonic zone temporal area E (TE) (after von Bonin and Bailey: The Neocortex of Macaca mulatta. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, '47). TE is characterized by a dense, broad layer IV of granule cells and a dark inner band of myelination. Injections of 3H-proline in ITC demonstrated major projections to a more rostral division of the temporal lobe, ITR. Other projections were to the frontal eye field (FEF), a more ventral region of frontal cortex (FV), and a medial division of inferior temporal cortex, ITM, on the ventral surface of the temporal lobe. Feedback projections of ITC were to DL and adjoining temporal-parietal cortex (TP), while interhemispheric projections were to ITC and ITR. Connections between dorsal and ventral ITC, together with earlier evidence for two projection zones of DL in ITC (Weller and Kaas: ibid., '85), suggest that dorsal and ventral sectors of ITC are separate visual areas. The rostral division of inferior temporal cortex, ITR, was defined as the projection zone of ITC. ITR occupied the rostral half of the architectonic region TE. Slight differences in cortical architecture between ITC and ITR were noted, but an architectonic border between the two fields could not be reliably distinguished. Injections in ITR demonstrated projections to the rostral pole of temporal cortex, ITP, feedback projections to ITC, and inputs to FEF, FV, dorsomedial frontal cortex, and the rostroventral superior temporal gyrus. Interhemispheric projections were to ITR and ITP. The projections of ITR to the rostral pole defined ITP. ITP has broad, less distinct layers of cortex and appears to correspond to temporal area G (TG) of von Bonin and Bailey (ibid., '47). The only known input to ITP is from ITR, and its projections have not yet been determined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)