Cortical maps as a fundamental neural substrate for visual representation

• Published in: Progress in neurobiology 2023-05, Vol.224, p.102424-102424, Article 102424
• Main Authors: Lima, Bruss, Florentino, Maria M., Fiorani, Mario, Soares, Juliana G.M., Schmidt, Kerstin E., Neuenschwander, Sergio, Baron, Jerome, Gattass, Ricardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Brain; Brain Mapping; Primate electrophysiology; Primates; Remapping; Saccades; Visual Perception - physiology; Visual representations; Visual system; Visual topography
• ISSN: 0301-0082; 1873-5118
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102424

Visual perception is the product of serial hierarchical processing, parallel processing, and remapping on a dynamic network involving several topographically organized cortical visual areas. Here, we will focus on the topographical organization of cortical areas and the different kinds of visual maps found in the primate brain. We will interpret our findings in light of a broader representational framework for perception. Based on neurophysiological data, our results do not support the notion that vision can be explained by a strict representational model, where the objective visual world is faithfully represented in our brain. On the contrary, we find strong evidence that vision is an active and constructive process from the very initial stages taking place in the eye and from the very initial stages of our development. A constructive interplay between perceptual and motor systems (e.g., during saccadic eye movements) is actively learnt from early infancy and ultimately provides our fluid stable visual perception of the world. •We describe four streams of visual information processing in primates.•Retinotopic maps do not translate into visual perception.•The maps of the ventral stream visual areas are visuotopic, and reconstruct the representation of the visual scene by perceptual completion and filling in.•The topography of the visual maps is the basis for a dynamic network responsible for a craniocentric representation.•Visual perception is dynamic, abstract, and not necessarily rooted in a concrete physical reality.