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Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
Published on: August 1, 2018
Cortical responses to invisible objects in the human dorsal and ventral pathways
1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Nature Neuroscience
|September 2, 2005
Summary
Even when unaware of visual stimuli due to interocular suppression, the dorsal visual pathway shows significant activity. This suggests information can reach the dorsal cortex even when perception is suppressed.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- The primate visual system has two proposed pathways: ventral for conscious perception and dorsal for unconscious visual processing and action guidance.
- Previous evidence for these pathways largely stems from patient and animal studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the dorsal visual pathway processes information that is not consciously perceived.
- To examine the extent to which visual information can reach dorsal cortical areas during interocular suppression.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
- Participants were subjected to interocular suppression, rendering visual stimuli consciously invisible.
Main Results:
- Dorsal cortical areas exhibited substantial activity in response to visual objects, despite participants' unawareness.
- Images of tools elicited stronger responses in dorsal areas compared to human faces.
- This indicates that visual information can bypass conscious awareness and reach the dorsal pathway.
Conclusions:
- The dorsal visual pathway is capable of processing visual information even when it is not consciously perceived.
- Interocular suppression in binocular rivalry does not completely block information transfer to dorsal cortical areas.
- This supports the dual-pathway model of visual processing and highlights the capacity for unconscious visual processing.
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