Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Specialized color modules in macaque extrastriate cortex.

Bevil R Conway¹, Sebastian Moeller, Doris Y Tsao

¹Neuroscience Program, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA. bconway@wellesley.edu

|November 9, 2007

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The cortical canvas.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex.

Nature·2026

Same author

The representation of object concepts across the brain.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

Science must break its silence to rebuild public trust.

Nature neuroscience·2025

Same author

A circuit that integrates drive state and social contact to gate mating.

Nature·2025

Same author

A compressed hierarchy for visual form processing in the tree shrew.

Nature·2025

Same journal

Dynamic coordination and segregation mechanisms in higher cortex for parallel task processing.

Neuron·2026

Same journal

Higher-order thalamic bursts are drivers of attention control.

Neuron·2026

Same journal

Composing trajectories for rapid inference of navigational goals.

Neuron·2026

Same journal

Peri-head distance coding in the mouse brainstem.

Neuron·2026

Same journal

A two-timepoint framework for sensitive and specific single-cell activity screening.

Neuron·2026

Same journal

From first impressions to bonds: The neural dynamics of social relationships.

Neuron·2026

See all related articles

Specialized brain regions for color perception exist, identified by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) hotspots called "globs" in macaque monkeys. These globs contain color-tuned neurons crucial for visual processing.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual Perception
Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

Neuroimaging suggests specialized brain regions for color processing.
Electrophysiological studies have yielded conflicting results regarding neural specialization for color.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural basis of color perception.
To reconcile conflicting findings using combined fMRI and electrophysiology.

Main Methods:

Targeted single-unit recordings in alert macaque monkeys.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) guided neural recordings.
Analysis of neuronal tuning properties (color, shape, direction selectivity).

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

Identified fMRI hotspots ("globs") in posterior inferior temporal cortex.

Cells within globs exhibited strong, luminance-invariant color tuning and some shape selectivity.

Cells in "interglob" regions showed shape selectivity but lacked color tuning.

Conclusions:

Color perception is mediated by specialized neurons clustered within extrastriate brain regions.
The "globs" represent distinct visual field locations, suggesting a coarse retinotopy.
Distinct neuronal populations within the posterior inferior temporal cortex are specialized for color versus shape processing.