Mental images and the Brain

Abstract

One theory of visual mental imagery posits that early visual cortex is also used to support representations during imagery. This claim is important because it bears on the "imagery debate": Early visual cortex supports depictive representations during perception, not descriptive ones. Thus, if such cortex also plays a functional role in imagery, this is strong evidence that imagery does not rely exclusively on the same sorts of representations that underlie language. The present article first outlines the nature of a processing system in which such a dual use of early visual cortex (in perception and in imagery) makes sense. Following this, literature bearing on the claim that early visual cortex is used in visual mental imagery is reviewed, and key issues are discussed.

Acknowledgments

This chapter summarises work supported by NIH grant 5 R01 MH60734, NSF grant REC-0106760, and NIMA grant NMA201-01-C-0032. I thank Marie Burrage for making many helpful and constructive comments on an earlier draft (but of course I must take responsibility for any muddled writing that persisted even after her careful edits).