Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026
07:12
A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
Visual field inhomogeneities and the architectonics of early visual cortex shape visual working memory
Julia Papiernik-Kłodzińska1,2,3, Simon Hviid Del Pin4, Kristian Sandberg5,6
1Consciousness lab, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 6 Ingardena Street, 30-060, Kraków, Poland.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|May 22, 2026
Summary
The primary visual cortex (V1) microarchitecture influences visual working memory (vWM) performance. Individual differences in V1 structure, like vertical meridian asymmetry, correlate with vWM capabilities, supporting the sensory recruitment hypothesis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- The role of the primary visual cortex (V1) in visual working memory (vWM) is debated.
- Previous research suggests V1's involvement, but the impact of its specific architectural properties on individual vWM differences is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if V1's microstructural properties, particularly those related to visual field inhomogeneities, predict interindividual differences in vWM performance.
- To explore whether structural variations in early visual areas beyond V1 also influence vWM.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative MRI (qMRI) was used to obtain microstructural maps (magnetization transfer, proton density, R1, R2*) from 292 participants.
- Participants completed a vWM task assessing visual field inhomogeneities.
- Associations between qMRI parameters, cortical thickness, and vWM performance were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Behavioral data confirmed known vWM asymmetries, including the vertical meridian asymmetry (VMA).
- Significant correlations were found between VMA and multiple qMRI parameters within V1, linking V1 microarchitecture to vWM variability.
- Cortical thickness in V3 was associated with left-right asymmetry, suggesting broader early visual cortex contributions.
Conclusions:
- V1 microarchitecture significantly contributes to interindividual differences in vWM performance.
- Structural variations in early visual areas, including V1 and V3, constrain vWM capabilities.
- Findings support the sensory recruitment hypothesis, indicating that early visual cortex characteristics shape cognitive functions like vWM.
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