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'What' Is Happening in the Dorsal Visual Pathway
Erez Freud1, David C Plaut1, Marlene Behrmann1
1Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|September 13, 2016
Summary
The dorsal visual pathway, not just the ventral pathway, contains object representations crucial for visual perception. This challenges the traditional view of distinct visual processing streams.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual System Research
Background:
- The cortical visual system is traditionally divided into ventral (object perception) and dorsal (spatial processing) pathways.
- This binary distinction is increasingly challenged by evidence suggesting overlap and shared functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review evidence for object representations within the dorsal visual pathway.
- To propose a model for the organization, function, and origin of these dorsal object representations.
Main Methods:
- Review of human and non-human primate studies.
- Analysis of neuroimaging and lesion data.
- Synthesis of anatomical and functional evidence.
Main Results:
- Regions within the dorsal pathway possess object representations.
- These dorsal representations are functionally relevant for object perception.
- Evidence suggests independence from ventral pathway representations.
Conclusions:
- The dorsal visual pathway plays a significant role in object perception, not solely spatial processing.
- A revised model of visual processing is needed to incorporate dorsal object representations.
- Understanding these representations is key to understanding visual perception.
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