A Major Human White Matter Pathway Between Dorsal and Ventral Visual Cortex

Hiromasa Takemura, Ariel Rokem, Jonathan Winawer, Jason D. Yeatman, Brian A. Wandell, Franco Pestilli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Human visual cortex comprises many visual field maps organized into clusters. A standard organization separates visual maps into 2 distinct clusters within ventral and dorsal cortex. We combined fMRI, diffusion MRI, and fiber tractography to identify a major white matter pathway, the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), connecting maps within the dorsal and ventral visual cortex. We use a model-based method to assess the statistical evidence supporting several aspects of the VOF wiring pattern. There is strong evidence supporting the hypothesis that dorsal and ventral visual maps communicate through the VOF. The cortical projection zones of the VOF suggest that human ventral (hV4/VO-1) and dorsal (V3A/B) maps exchange substantial information. The VOF appears to be crucial for transmitting signals between regions that encode object properties including form, identity, and color and regions that map spatial information.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2205-2214
Number of pages10
JournalCerebral Cortex
Volume26
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2016

Keywords

  • diffusion-weighted MRI
  • fiber tractography
  • vertical occipital fasciculus
  • visual cortex
  • white matter

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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