The relationship between cortical magnification factor and population receptive field size in human visual cortex: constancies in cortical architecture. 2011

Ben M Harvey, and Serge O Dumoulin
Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands. b.m.harvey@uu.nl

Receptive field (RF) sizes and cortical magnification factor (CMF) are fundamental organization properties of the visual cortex. At increasing visual eccentricity, RF sizes increase and CMF decreases. A relationship between RF size and CMF suggests constancies in cortical architecture, as their product, the cortical representation of an RF (point image), may be constant. Previous animal neurophysiology studies of this question yield conflicting results. Here, we use fMRI to determine the relationship between the population RF (pRF) and CMF in humans. In average and individual data, the product of CMF and pRF size, the population point image, is near constant, decreasing slightly with eccentricity in V1. Interhemisphere and subject variations in CMF, pRF size, and V1 surface area are correlated, and the population point image varies less than these properties. These results suggest a V1 cortical processing architecture of approximately constant size between humans. Up the visual hierarchy, to V2, V3, hV4, and LO1, the population point image decreases with eccentricity, and both the absolute values and rate of change increase. PRF sizes increase between visual areas and with eccentricity, but when expressed in V1 cortical surface area (i.e., corticocortical pRFs), they are constant across eccentricity in V2/V3. Thus, V2/V3, and to some degree hV4, sample from a constant extent of V1. This may explain population point image changes in later areas. Consequently, the constant factor determining pRF size may not be the relationship to the local CMF, but rather pRF sizes and CMFs in visual areas from which the pRF samples.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008279 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques. Chemical Shift Imaging,MR Tomography,MRI Scans,MRI, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Image,Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional,Magnetization Transfer Contrast Imaging,NMR Imaging,NMR Tomography,Tomography, NMR,Tomography, Proton Spin,fMRI,Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,Imaging, Chemical Shift,Proton Spin Tomography,Spin Echo Imaging,Steady-State Free Precession MRI,Tomography, MR,Zeugmatography,Chemical Shift Imagings,Echo Imaging, Spin,Echo Imagings, Spin,Functional MRI,Functional MRIs,Image, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, NMR,Imaging, Spin Echo,Imagings, Chemical Shift,Imagings, Spin Echo,MRI Scan,MRIs, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Images,Resonance Image, Magnetic,Scan, MRI,Scans, MRI,Shift Imaging, Chemical,Shift Imagings, Chemical,Spin Echo Imagings,Steady State Free Precession MRI
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D010775 Photic Stimulation Investigative technique commonly used during ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY in which a series of bright light flashes or visual patterns are used to elicit brain activity. Stimulation, Photic,Visual Stimulation,Photic Stimulations,Stimulation, Visual,Stimulations, Photic,Stimulations, Visual,Visual Stimulations
D001931 Brain Mapping Imaging techniques used to colocalize sites of brain functions or physiological activity with brain structures. Brain Electrical Activity Mapping,Functional Cerebral Localization,Topographic Brain Mapping,Brain Mapping, Topographic,Functional Cerebral Localizations,Mapping, Brain,Mapping, Topographic Brain
D005133 Eye Movements Voluntary or reflex-controlled movements of the eye. Eye Movement,Movement, Eye,Movements, Eye
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D014793 Visual Cortex Area of the OCCIPITAL LOBE concerned with the processing of visual information relayed via VISUAL PATHWAYS. Area V2,Area V3,Area V4,Area V5,Associative Visual Cortex,Brodmann Area 18,Brodmann Area 19,Brodmann's Area 18,Brodmann's Area 19,Cortical Area V2,Cortical Area V3,Cortical Area V4,Cortical Area V5,Secondary Visual Cortex,Visual Cortex Secondary,Visual Cortex V2,Visual Cortex V3,Visual Cortex V3, V4, V5,Visual Cortex V4,Visual Cortex V5,Visual Cortex, Associative,Visual Motion Area,Extrastriate Cortex,Area 18, Brodmann,Area 18, Brodmann's,Area 19, Brodmann,Area 19, Brodmann's,Area V2, Cortical,Area V3, Cortical,Area V4, Cortical,Area V5, Cortical,Area, Visual Motion,Associative Visual Cortices,Brodmanns Area 18,Brodmanns Area 19,Cortex Secondary, Visual,Cortex V2, Visual,Cortex V3, Visual,Cortex, Associative Visual,Cortex, Extrastriate,Cortex, Secondary Visual,Cortex, Visual,Cortical Area V3s,Extrastriate Cortices,Secondary Visual Cortices,V3, Cortical Area,V3, Visual Cortex,V4, Area,V4, Cortical Area,V5, Area,V5, Cortical Area,V5, Visual Cortex,Visual Cortex Secondaries,Visual Cortex, Secondary,Visual Motion Areas

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