Cited by 192Visual perception and processing mechanismsFace Recognition and PerceptionMotor Control and Adaptation

Maps of visual space in human occipital cortex are retinotopic, not spatiotopic

Open access
Gardner, Justin L., Merriam, Elisha P., Movshon, J. Anthony, Heeger, David J.·2008·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

We experience the visual world as phenomenally invariant to eye position, but almost all cortical maps of visual space in monkeys use a retinotopic reference frame, that is, the cortical representation of a point in the visual world is different across eye positions. It was recently reported that human cortical area MT (unlike monkey MT) represents stimuli in a reference frame linked to the position of stimuli in space, a "spatiotopic" reference frame. We used visuotopic mapping with blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging signals to define 12 human visual cortical areas, and then determined whether the reference frame in each area was spatiotopic or retinotopic. We found that all 12 areas, including MT, represented stimuli in a retinotopic reference frame. Although there were patches of cortex in and around these visual areas that were ostensibly spatiotopic, none of these patches exhibited reliable stimulus-evoked responses. We conclude that the early, visuotopically organized visual cortical areas in the human brain (like their counterparts in the monkey brain) represent stimuli in a retinotopic reference frame.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.5476-07.2008

Cites

81 of 81 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Gardner, J. L., Merriam, E. P., Movshon, J. A., & Heeger, D. J.
Affiliations
New York University (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2008-04-09
Volume
28
Issue
15
Pages
3988-3999
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2023350789
Cited by
192
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 19
FWCI
8.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  • York University
  • National Institutes of Health (5f32ey016260-03)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH69880, R01MH069880)
  • National Eye Institute (F32-EY016260, F32EY016646)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
Keywords
retinotopic mapping, visual representation of space, reference frames, visual cortex organization
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxygen, Photic Stimulation, Retina, Space Perception, Visual Cortex, Visual Pathways

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review