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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.

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

Anatomy of the Eyeball

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle...

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 27, 2025

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Decision-related feedback in visual cortex lacks spatial selectivity.

Katrina R Quinn¹, Lenka Seillier¹, Daniel A Butts²

¹University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Nature Communications

|July 23, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Brain feedback provides context for task flexibility. However, this study found decision-related feedback is spatially unselective, suggesting a common mechanism across tasks, independent of spatial demands.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Visual System Research

Background:

Neural feedback is crucial for cognitive flexibility and task performance.
In the visual system, feedback is thought to target specific neuronal groups relevant to the task.
Understanding feedback mechanisms is key to explaining how the brain adapts to changing demands.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether feedback in the brain combines selectivities from multiple tasks.
To determine if decision-related feedback is spatially selective, mirroring behavioral task demands.
To explore the neural basis of task-generalization and feature-based attention.

Main Methods:

Utilized a visual feature-discrimination task in macaque monkeys.
Decoupled decision formation from motor response reporting.
Recorded neural activity in mid-level visual areas during task performance.

Main Results:

Behavioral responses were spatially selective, utilizing task-relevant information.
Decision-related feedback modulation was found to be spatially unselective.
Population neural responses showed similar stimulus-choice alignments regardless of stimulus relevance.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest a common, spatially unselective feedback mechanism across different tasks.
This mechanism may be independent of the specific spatial demands of individual tasks.
Results support a link between feature-based attention and decision-related neural activity, potentially reflecting biological constraints that facilitate task generalization.