Models and measurements of functional maps in V1

Abstract

The organization of primary visual cortex has been heavily studied for nearly 50 years, and in the last 20 years functional imaging has provided high-resolution maps of its tangential organization. Recently, however, the usefulness of maps like those of orientation and spatial frequency (SF) preference has been called into question because they do not, by themselves, predict how moving images are represented in V1. In this review, we discuss a model for cortical responses (the spatiotemporal filtering model) that specifies the types of cortical maps needed to predict distributed activity within V1. We then review the structure and interrelationships of several of these maps, including those of orientation, SF, and temporal frequency preference. Finally, we discuss tests of the model and the sufficiency of the requisite maps in predicting distributed cortical responses. Although the spatiotemporal filtering model does not account for all responses within V1, it does, with reasonable accuracy, predict population responses to a variety of complex stimuli. Copyright © 2008 The American Physiological Society.