Visual Areas in Macaque Cortex Measured Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

We describe the first systematic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements of visual field maps in macaque visual cortex. The boundaries of visual areas V1, V2, V3, V3A, V4, MT/V5, and TEO/V4A were identified using stimuli that create traveling waves of activity in retinotopically organized areas of the visual cortex. Furthermore, these stimuli were used to measure the dimensions of the representations of the central 11 degrees in V1-V3, quantitative visual field eccentricity functions for V1-V3 and MT, and the distribution of foveal and peripheral signals within the occipital lobe. Within areas V1, V2, MT, and portions of V4, the fMRI signals were 5-10 times the noise level (3 mm3 volumes of interest). Signals were weaker but still significant in other cortical regions, including V3, V3A, and TEO. There is good agreement between the fMRI maps and the visual area maps discovered using local anatomical and physiological measurements. The fMRI measurements allow one to obtain a broad view of the distribution of cortical signals, spanning multiple visual areas at a single point in time. The combination of scale and sensitivity demonstrated here create a good foundation for measuring how localized signals and lesions influence the responses and reorganization in widely separated cortical regions. The ability to measure human and macaque maps using the same technology will make it possible to define computational homologies between the two species.