Factors Determining Where Category-Selective Areas Emerge in Visual Cortex

Publication date: Available online 18 July 2019Source: Trends in Cognitive SciencesAuthor(s): Hans P. Op de Beeck, Ineke Pillet, J. Brendan RitchieA hallmark of functional localization in the human brain is the presence of areas in visual cortex specialized for representing particular categories such as faces and words. Why do these areas appear where they do during development? Recent findings highlight several general factors to consider when answering this question. Experience-driven category selectivity arises in regions that have: (i) pre-existing selectivity for properties of the stimulus, (ii) are appropriately placed in the computational hierarchy of the visual system, and (iii) exhibit domain-specific patterns of connectivity to nonvisual regions. In other words, cortical location of category selectivity is constrained by what category will be represented, how it will be represented, and why the representation will be used.

Source: Trends in Cognitive Sciences - July 19, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research