Primate visual cortex is subdivided into a number of visual areas that are hierarchically interconnected, and many of these areas are in turn subdivided into smaller, modular subregions. The long-term goal of this proposal is to contribute to our understanding of how visual information is processed by these subdivisions of visual cortex. The general strategy is to relate pathways interlinking specific sets of visual areas and subregions with functional streams specialized in the analysis of specific aspects of visual information. The project focuses on visual area V2, which contains a sequence of alternating stripe-like subregions revealed with cytochrome oxidase histochemistry (thick and thin stripes, and interstripes). A number of complementary anatomical and physiological experiments are proposed to address several issues bearing on the relationship of this modular organization with functional streams in visual cortex. The cortex will be physically unfolded and flattened to relate the anatomical and physiological data to the pattern of stripes over large regions of V2. One set of experiments will use electrophysiological and 2-deoxyglucose techniques to investigate the organization of the snipe pattern with respect to the visual field, paying especial attention to how dorso- ventral asymmetries in the stripe pattern are reflected in the topographic map. In addition, the possibility that each class of stripes has its own map of the visual field will be explored in detail. A second set of experiments will study specific cortical and subcortical connections of V2 in an effort to characterize further the degree of independence, or intermixing, of the processing pathways represented by the V2 stripe subregions. Results from this project will significantly extend our knowledge about functional visual pathways in normal individuals. They may also yield valuable clues for interpreting pathological conditions such as trauma and tumors involving cortical areas, and for designing treatment and artificial ways for aiding vision-impaired subjects.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01EY009343-01A1
Application #
3266738
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Project Start
1992-07-01
Project End
1996-06-30
Budget Start
1992-07-01
Budget End
1993-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1992
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Washington
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
135646524
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98195
Sorensen, Staci A; Jones, Theresa A; Olavarria, Jaime F (2003) Neonatal enucleation reduces the proportion of callosal boutons forming multiple synaptic contacts in rat striate cortex. Neurosci Lett 351:17-20
O'Brien, B J; Abel, P L; Olavarria, J F (2001) The retinal input to calbindin-D28k-defined subdivisions in macaque inferior pulvinar. Neurosci Lett 312:145-8
Olavarria, J F (2001) Callosal connections correlate preferentially with ipsilateral cortical domains in cat areas 17 and 18, and with contralateral domains in the 17/18 transition zone. J Comp Neurol 433:441-57
Abel, P L; O'Brien, B J; Olavarria, J F (2000) Organization of callosal linkages in visual area V2 of macaque monkey. J Comp Neurol 428:278-93
Olavarria, J F; Van Essen, D C (1997) The global pattern of cytochrome oxidase stripes in visual area V2 of the macaque monkey. Cereb Cortex 7:395-404
Abel, P L; O'Brien, B J; Lia, B et al. (1997) Distribution of neurons projecting to the superior colliculus correlates with thick cytochrome oxidase stripes in macaque visual area V2. J Comp Neurol 377:313-23
Olavarria, J F (1996) Non-mirror-symmetric patterns of callosal linkages in areas 17 and 18 in cat visual cortex. J Comp Neurol 366:643-55
Olavarria, J F; Abel, P L (1996) The distribution of callosal connections correlates with the pattern of cytochrome oxidase stripes in visual area V2 of macaque monkeys. Cereb Cortex 6:631-9
Abel, P L; Olavarria, J F (1996) The callosal pattern in striate cortex is more patchy in monocularly enucleated albino than pigmented rats. Neurosci Lett 204:169-72
Bourdet, C; Olavarria, J F; Van Sluyters, R C (1996) Distribution of visual callosal neurons in normal and strabismic cats. J Comp Neurol 366:259-69

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