Spatial remapping of the visual world across saccades.
Recent research has identified neurons in the visual system that remap their receptive fields before a saccade. The activity of these neurons may signal a prediction of postsaccadic visual input, derived from an efference copy of saccadic motor output. Such a prediction is often thought to underlie our perception of a stable visual world, by compensating for the shifts in retinal image that accompany each eye movement. Here we review the evidence, and conclude that prediction does not in fact play a significant role in maintaining visual stability. Instead, we consider a novel perspective in which the primary function of spatial remapping is to support three key nonperceptual processes: action control, sensorimotor adaptation and spatial memory.
Bays
Paul M
PM
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, UK. p.bays@ion.ucl.ac.uk
Husain
Masud
M
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*