Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Responses of cells in monkey visual cortex during perceptual filling-in of an artificial scotoma

  • Letter
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Abstract

WHEN we view a scene through one eye, we typically do not see the scotomas created by the optic disc and the blood vessels overlying the retinal surface. Similarly, when a texture field containing a hole is steadily viewed in peripheral vision (artificial scotoma), the hole appears to fill in with the surrounding texture in a matter of seconds, demonstrating that the visual system fills in information across regions where no information is available1–5. Here we show that, in monkeys viewing a similar texture field with a hole, the responses of extrastriate visual neurons with receptive fields covering the hole increase gradually to a level comparable to that elicited by the same texture without a hole. The time course of these dynamic changes in activity parallels the time course of perceived filling-in of the hole by human observers, suggesting that this process mediates perceptual filling-in.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bender, M. B. & Teuber, H. L. Archs Neurol Psychiat., Chicago 55, 627–658 (1946).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Grossberg, S. Percep. Psychophys. 55, 48–120 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ramachandran, V. S. & Gregory, R. L. Nature 350, 699–702 (1991).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ramachandran, V. S., Gregory, R. L. & Aiken, W. Vision Res. 33, 717–721 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Spillmann, L. & Kurtenbach, A. Vision Res. 32, 1941–1946 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Pettet, M. W. & Gilbert, C. D. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 8366–8370 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Komatsu, H. & Murakami, I. Vis. Neurosci. 11, 1103–1113 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Ohzawa, I., Sclar, G. & Freeman, R. D. J. Neurophysiol. 42, 833–849 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Knierim, J. J. & Van Essen, D. C. J. Neurophysiol. 67, 961–980 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Maffei, L. & Fiorentini, A. Vision Res. 16, 1131–1139 (1976).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Nelson, J. I. & Frost, B. J. Brain Res. 139, 359–365 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nelson, J. I. & Frost, B. J. Expl Brain Res. 61, 54–61 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zipser, K., Lee, T. S., Lamme, V. A. F. & Schiller, P. H. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 20, 1477 (1994).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Yoshioka, T., Levitt, J. B. & Lund, J. S. J. Neurosci. 12, 2785–2802 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Levitt, J. B., Yoshioka, T. & Lund, J. S. J. comp. Neurol. 342, 551–570 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. McGuire, B. A., Gilbert, C. D., Rivlin, P. K. & Wiesel, T. N. J. comp. Neurol. 305, 370–392 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Distler, C., Boussaoud, D., Desimone, R. & Ungerleider, L. G. J. comp Neurol. 334, 125–150 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Fiorani, M., Rosa, M. G. P., Gattass, R. & Rocha-Miranda, C. E. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 8547–8551 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Gattass, R., Gross, C. G. & Sandell, J. H. J. comp. Neurol. 201, 519–539 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Gattass, R., Sousa, A. P. B. & Gross, C. G. J. Neurosci. 8, 1831–1845 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Miller, E. K., Li, L. & Desimone, R. J. Neurosci. 13, 1460–1478 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Das, A. & Gilbert, C. D. Nature 375, 780–784 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology, NIMH, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA

    Peter De Weerd & Leslie G. Ungerleider

  2. Laboratory of Neuropsychology, NIMH, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA

    Robert Desimone

  3. Department of Neurobiology, Biophysics Institute Carlos Chagas, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941, Brazil

    Ricardo Gattass

Authors
  1. Peter De Weerd
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ricardo Gattass
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert Desimone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Leslie G. Ungerleider
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Weerd, P., Gattass, R., Desimone, R. et al. Responses of cells in monkey visual cortex during perceptual filling-in of an artificial scotoma. Nature 377, 731–734 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/377731a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/377731a0

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation