Orientation anisotropies in macaque visual areas

Abstract

Significance Orientation selectivity is one of the most important functional features of visual neurons. In the primate visual cortex, whether all orientations are represented equally is still unclear. Previous electrophysiological recordings led to controversial findings. By analyzing a large set of optical imaging data, we found anisotropic representations of orientation in macaque visual areas and that different areas had different types of anisotropies. These findings not only shed light on the long-standing question regarding a basic property of the primate visual cortex, but also on the strategy the visual system takes to represent and analyze the visual world.