Functional Organization of Macaque V3 for Stereoscopic Depth

Abstract

Recordings were made from single and small groups of cells in prestriate area V3 of the visual cortex of the Cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis). The majority of cells in V3 were selective for orientation and stereoscopic depth, these cells being segregated into two sets of functionally distinct columns. Orientation columns in V3 have been previously demonstrated; here we show that V3 also contains columns of segregated disparity-selective cells. On the basis of its cellular properties, functional organization, and intra-cortical connections, we propose that V3 contributes to the processing of stereoscopic depth information and that the parietal areas to which it projects use this information for the analysis of object depth and three-dimensional form.