title: Mechanisms of heading perception in primate visual cortex.
abstract: When we move forward while walking or driving, what we see appears to expand. The center or focus of this expansion tells us our direction of self-motion, or heading, as long as our eyes are still. However, if our eyes move, as when tracking a nearby object on the ground, the retinal image is disrupted and the focus is shifted away from the heading. Neurons in primate dorso-medial superior temporal area responded selectively to an expansion focus in a certain part of the visual field, and this selective region shifted during tracking eye movements in a way that compensated for the retinal focus shift. Therefore, these neurons account for the effect of eye movements on what we see as we travel forward through the world.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.forename: K V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Shenoy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009039:Motion Perception; D009068:Movement; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011698:Pursuit, Smooth; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D012399:Rotation; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology