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Vision

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Layer-Dependent Attentional Processing by Top-down Signals in a Visual Cortical Microcircuit Model.

Nobuhiko Wagatsuma¹, Tobias C Potjans, Markus Diesmann

¹RIKEN Brain Science Institute Wako, Japan.

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience

|July 23, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Attention directs brain resources to process visual information efficiently. This study models how visual cortical microcircuits process attention, revealing layer-specific effects crucial for rapid attentional shifts.

Keywords:

computational model laminar organization large-scale simulation orientation column visual attention visual cortex

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Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

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Last Updated: May 30, 2026

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

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Published on: July 5, 2015

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

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Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Visual Cortex Research

Background:

The brain has limited processing capacity for vast sensory input.
Attention is key for resource allocation in visual processing.
Understanding attentional signal processing in visual cortical microcircuits is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore interactions between visual input and attentional signals in a computational model of the visual cortical microcircuit.
To investigate how top-down attentional signals modulate neuronal responses across different cortical layers.
To elucidate the role of layer-specific modulation in attentional shifts.

Main Methods:

Development of a computational model of the visual cortical microcircuit.
Simulation of interactions between visual inputs and attentional signals.
Analysis of neuronal response modulation across cortical layers (2/3, 4, and 5).

Main Results:

The model successfully replicates known attentional effects on visual neuronal responses.
Attention enhances neuronal responses in layers 2/3 and 5 (output stations).
Attention suppresses neuronal responses in layer 4 (input station).

Conclusions:

Top-down attentional signals exhibit layer-specific modulation within the visual cortex.
Layer 4's modulated activity is critical for rapid attentional shifts.
The study provides insights into the microcircuit mechanisms underlying attention.