Are neural correlates of visual consciousness retinotopic?
Some visual neurons code what we see, their defining characteristic being a response profile which mirrors conscious percepts rather than veridical sensory attributes. One issue yet to be resolved is whether, within a given cortical area, conscious visual perception relates to diffuse activity across the entire population of such cells or focal activity within the sub-population mapping the location of the perceived stimulus. Here we investigate the issue in the human brain with fMRI, using a threshold stimulation technique to dissociate perceptual from non-perceptual activity. Our results point to a retinotopic organisation of perceptual activity in early visual areas, with independent perceptual activations for different regions of visual space.
Institute of Psychiatry PO 70, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. d.ffytche@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Dominic H
DH
ffytche
Delphine
D
Pins
D001931:Brain Mapping; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*