PROCESSING OF VISUAL SHAPE AND SURFACE IN THE TEMPORAL ASSOCIATION CORTEX

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Neurons in the inferior temporal cortex (IT) of the primate respond selectively to a particular range, of shape, color, texture, and binocular disparity. The stimulus selectivity of IT neurons is thought to underlie discrimination, recognition and memory of complex visual objects and their surface structure. Elucidation of how and where this complex stimulus selectivity is generated constitutes a critical step towards understanding the neural mechanisms responsible for these cognitive processes. In this project, we clarified the following aspects of the processing of visual shape and surfaces in the IT and its preceding stage, area V4.(1) IT neurons respond to shape defined solely by binocular disparity(2) V4 neurons are sensitive to binocular disparity.(3) Many V4 neurons lose binocular disparity selectivity when right-eye and left-eye images are contrast reversed with each other, suggesting that the binocular correspondence problem is solved along the occipitotemporal visual pathway.(4) GABA-mediated inhibition contributes to shaping receptive field structures and selectivity for texture of IT neurons.(5) Inhibitory interneurons in IT are as selective for stimulus shape as are excitatory IT neurons.