title: Dependence of V2 illusory contour response on V1 cell properties and topographic organization.
abstract: An illusory contour is an image that is perceived as a contour in the absence of typical contour characteristics, such as a change in luminance or chromaticity across the stimulus. In cats and primates, cells that respond to illusory contours are sparse in cortical area V1, but are found in greater numbers in cortical area V2. We propose a model capable of illusory contour detection that is based on a realistic topographic organization of V1 cells, which reproduces the responses of individual cell types measured experimentally. The model allows us to explain several experimentally observed properties of V2 cells including variability in orientation tuning and inducer spacing preference. As a practical application, the model can be used to estimate the relationship between the severity of a cortical injury in the primary visual cortex and the deterioration of V2 cell responses to real and illusory contours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, amelia.cohen@alumni.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Calin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buia
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tiesinga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons; D014793:Visual Cortex