Representation of stereoscopic depth based on relative disparity in macaque area V4

Stereoscopic vision is characterized by greater visual acuity when a background feature serves as a reference. When a reference is present, the perceived depth of an object is predominantly dependent on this reference. Neural representations of stereoscopic depth are expected to have a relative frame of reference. The conversion of absolute disparity encoded in area V1 to relative disparity begins in area V2, although the information encoded in this area appears to be insufficient for stereopsis. This study examines whether relative disparity is encoded in a higher cortical area. We recorded the responses of V4 neurons from macaque monkeys to various combinations of the absolute disparities of two features: the center patch and surrounding annulus of a dynamic random-dot stereogram. We analyzed the effects of the disparity of the surrounding annulus on the tuning for the disparity of the center patch; the tuning curves of relative-disparity-selective neurons for disparities of the center patch should shift with changes in the disparity of the surrounding annulus. Most V4 tuning curves exhibited significant shifts. The magnitudes of the shifts were larger than those reported for V2 neurons and smaller than that expected for an ideal relative-disparity-selective cell. No correlation was found between the shift magnitude and the degree of size suppression, suggesting that the two phenomena are not the result of a common mechanism. Our results suggest that the coding of relative disparity advances as information flows along the cortical pathway that includes areas V2 and V4.