Area Prostriata in the Human Brain

Year: 2017

Authors: Mikellidou K., Kurzawski J. W., Frijia F., Montanaro F., Greco V., Burr D. C. Morrone M. C.

Autors Affiliation: Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, via Savi 10, 56126 Pisa, Italy; Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Viale del Tirreno, 331, 56128 Calambrone, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, 50139 Florence, Italy; Unit of Neuroradiology, Fondazione CNR/Regione Toscana G. Monasterio, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy;
Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, CNR, Largo Enrico Fermi 6, 50125 Florence, Italy; Neuroscience Institute, CNR, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy

Abstract: Area prostriata is a cortical area at the fundus of the calcarine sulcus, described anatomically in humans [1-5] and other primates [6-9]. It is lightly myelinated and lacks the clearly defined six-layer structure evident throughout the cerebral cortex, with a thinner layer 4 and thicker layer 2 [10], characteristic of limbic cortex [11]. In the marmoset and rhesus monkey, area prostriata has cortical connections with MT+ [12], the cingulate motor cortex [8], the auditory cortex [13], the orbitofrontal cortex, and the frontal polar cortices [14]. Here we use functional magnetic resonance together with a wide-field projection system to study its functional properties in humans. With population receptive field mapping [15], we show that area prostriata has a complete representation of the visual field, clearly distinct from the adjacent area V1. As in the marmoset, the caudal-dorsal border of human prostriata-abutting V1-represents the far peripheral visual field, with eccentricities decreasing toward its rostral boundary. Area prostriata responds strongly to very fast motion, greater than 500 degrees/s. The functional properties of area prostriata suggest that it may serve to alert the brain quickly to fast visual events, particularly in the peripheral visual field.

Journal/Review: CURRENT BIOLOGY

Volume: 27 (19)      Pages from: 3056-1  to: 3056-8

More Information: This research was supported by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FPT/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 338866 (K.M., D.C.B., and M.C.M.) and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovat ion Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 641805 (J.W.K.). We would like to thank Niccolo Calcini for help with cortex segmentations, Guido Marco Cicchini for help with stimuli setup, and Paola Binda for invaluable advice on pRF mapping.
KeyWords: Human Visual-cortex; Rhesus-monkey; Retinotopic Organization; Retrosplenial Cortex; Cortical Afferents; Peripheral-vision; Macaque Monkey; Field; Cytoarchitecture; Parcellation
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.08.065

Citations: 35
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