The circuitry of V1 and V2: integration of color, form, and motion

Abstract

Primary and secondary visual cortex (V1 and V2) form the foundation of the cortical visual system. V1 transforms information received from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and distributes it to separate domains in V2 for transmission to higher visual areas. During the past 20 years, schemes for the functional organization of V1 and V2 have been based on a tripartite framework developed by Livingstone & Hubel (1988) . Since then, new anatomical data have accumulated concerning V1's input, its internal circuitry, and its output to V2. These new data, along with physiological and imaging studies, now make it likely that the visual attributes of color, form, and motion are not neatly segregated by V1 into different stripe compartments in V2. Instead, there are just two main streams, originating from cytochrome oxidase patches and interpatches, that project to V2. Each stream is composed of a mixture of magno, parvo, and konio geniculate signals. Further studies are required to elucidate how the patches and interpatches differ in the output they convey to extrastriate cortex.