Visual Topography of Human Intraparietal Sulcus
5326 • The Journal of Neuroscience, May 16, 2007 • 27(20):5326–5337 Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive Visual Topography of Human Intraparietal Sulcus Jascha D. Swisher,1 Mark A. Halko,1 Lotfi B. Merabet,1,2 Stephanie A. McMains,1,3 and David C. Somers1,4 1Perceptual Neuroimaging Laboratory, Program in Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, 2Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, 3Neuroscience of Attention and Perception Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, and 4Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129 Human parietal cortex is implicated in a wide variety of sensory and cognitive functions, yet its precise organization remains unclear. Visual field maps provide a potential structural basis for descriptions of functional organization. Here, we detail the topography of a series of five maps of the contralateral visual hemifield within human posterior parietal cortex. These maps are located along the medial bank of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and are revealed by direct visual stimulation during functional magnetic resonance imaging, allowing these parietal regions to be routinely and reliably identified simultaneously with occipital visual areas. Two of these maps (IPS3 and IPS4) are novel, whereas two others (IPS1 and IPS2) have previously been revealed only by higher-order cognitive tasks. Area V7, a previously identified visual map, is observed to lie within posterior IPS and to share a foveal representation with IPS1. These parietal maps are reliably observed across scan sessions; however, their precise topography varies between individuals.
[Show full text]