Topographical representations of mental images in primary visual cortex
- 1 November 1995
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature
- Vol. 378 (6556), 496-498
- https://doi.org/10.1038/378496a0
Abstract
We report here the use of positron emission tomography (PET) to reveal that the primary visual cortex is activated when subjects close their eyes and visualize objects. The size of the image is systematically related to the location of maximal activity, which is as expected because the earliest visual areas are spatially organized. These results were only evident, however, when imagery conditions were compared to a non-imagery baseline in which the same auditory cues were presented (and hence the stimuli were controlled); when a resting baseline was used (and hence brain activation was uncontrolled), imagery activation was obscured because of activation in visual cortex during the baseline condition. These findings resolve a debate in the literature about whether imagery activates early visual cortex and indicate that visual mental imagery involves 'depictive' representations, not solely language-like descriptions. Moreover, the fact that stored visual information can affect processing in even the earliest visual areas suggests that knowledge can fundamentally bias what one sees.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- Visual Memory, Visual Imagery, and Visual Recognition of Large Field Patterns by the Human Brain: Functional Anatomy by Positron Emission TomographyCerebral Cortex, 1995
- Visual Mental Imagery Activates Topographically Organized Visual Cortex: PET InvestigationsJournal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 1993
- Different mental imagery abilities result in different regional cerebral blood flow activation patterns during cognitive tasksNeuropsychologia, 1992
- Comparing Functional (PET) Images: The Assessment of Significant ChangeJournal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 1991
- Performance Characteristics of an Eight-Ring Whole Body PET ScannerJournal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 1990
- Mapping human visual cortex with positron emission tomographyNature, 1986
- Deoxyglucose Analysis of Retinotopic Organization in Primate Striate CortexScience, 1982
- A standardized set of 260 pictures: Norms for name agreement, image agreement, familiarity, and visual complexity.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1980
- Imagery, propositions, and the form of internal representationsCognitive Psychology, 1977
- What the mind's eye tells the mind's brain: A critique of mental imagery.Psychological Bulletin, 1973