Mechanisms of Heading Perception in Primate Visual Cortex

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 disrup...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1996-09, Vol.273 (5281), p.1544-1547
Main Authors: Bradley, David C., Maxwell, Marsha, Andersen, Richard A., Banks, Martin S., Shenoy, Krishna V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Animals
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Biology
Coordinate systems
Correlation
Eye Movements
Eyes
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human spatial behavior
Macaca
Macaca mulatta
Motion Perception
Motor Reactions
Movement
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Neurophysiology
Optical focus
Optics
Optometry
Orientation (Physiology)
Perceptions
Primates
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Pursuit, Smooth
Retina - physiology
Retinal images
Rotation
Sine function
Spatial behavior
Spatial behaviour
Stimuli
Temporal Lobe - physiology
Visual Cortex - physiology
Visual Pathways - physiology
Visual perception
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.273.5281.1544