The representation of the visual field in the occipital striate cortex

Abstract

The traditional Holmes’ view of the representation of the visual field in the occipital striate cortex was universally accepted for most of the last century.However, following the advent of detailed brain imaging, a reappraisal has taken place during the past decade. In particular, Horton and Hoyt have proposed a revised representation hypothesis with an increased representation of the central 10°. Nevertheless, controversies remain concerning firstly, the precise representation of the entire visual field throughout the occipital striate cortex, and secondly, the representation of macular or foveal vision (unilateral or bilateral). These issues have been addressed through experimental studies in non-human primates, clinical lesional studies in humans with correlation of perimetric deficits to brain-imaging abnormalities, and functional imaging studies in healthy volunteers. Recently, more sophisticated perimetric techniques with monitoring of fixational eye movements have allowed more detailed understanding of the macular/foveal representation in humans. An historical review will be contrasted with current concepts and compared with recent functional imaging studies.