Foveal

About: Foveal is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2652 publications have been published within this topic receiving 94120 citations.

Saccadic eye movements following kainic acid lesions of the pulvinar in monkeys

Abstract: Behavioral and anatomical experiments have suggested that the pulvinar might play a role in the generation of saccadic eye movements to visual targets. To test this idea, we trained monkeys to make visually-guided saccades by requiring them to detect the dimming of a small target. We used three different saccade paradigms. On single-step trials, saccades were made from a central fixation point (FP) to a target at 12, 24 or 36° to the left or right. On overlap trials, the FP remained lit during presentation of a target at 12 or 24°. On double-step trials, the target stepped first to 24°, and then back to 12° on the same side. Animals were trained to criterion, received kainic acid lesions of the pulvinar, and were retested on all three tasks. The lesions were very large, destroying almost all of the visually responsive pulvinar. They also encroached on the lateral geniculate nucleus, thereby producing small foveal scotomas, and this resulted in some behavioral changes, including difficulty in maintaining fixation on the target and in detecting its dimming. Results on the saccade tests suggest that the pulvinar is not crucial for initiation of saccadic eye movements. Saccade latency and amplitude were unimpaired on both single-step and overlap trials. Saccadic performance was also normal on double-step trials. In a second experiment, we measured the average length of fixations during spontaneous viewing of a complex visual scene. Fixation lengths did not differ from those of unoperated control monkeys. We suggest that the neglect, increased saccadic latencies, and prolonged fixations attributed to pulvinar damage in previous studies were probably the result instead of inadvertent damage to tectal afferents. The present results, together with single unit data, point to a role for the pulvinar not in the generation of saccades, but rather in the integration of saccadic eye movements with visual processing.

The central performance drop in texture segmentation: a simulation based on a spatial filter model

Abstract: This article presents a computational model of early visual information processing that attempts to account for the central performance drop (CPD) in texture segmentation. CPD is the finding that detection performance on short stimulus displays of line textures using orientation differences to set off the target is not maximal at the foveal center but in parafoveal areas. A comparison between a simulation and psychophysical experimental data supported the assumption that the CPD may be explained by properties of spatial frequency channels whose band-pass filter characteristics are not constant over the retina but differ with eccentricity in a defined manner. The model provided satisfactory predictions of experimental data based on densely or widely spaced line elements in texture fields. It is concluded that preattentive texture analysis might be performed by a relatively small number of simple spatial filters.

Binocular integration in line rivalry

Abstract: Three experiments investigated the frequency of a monocular, partial binocular, or nearly total binocular report of dichoptically presented stimuli in a line rivalry paradigm. The consistently important variable was the duration of the presentation time of the stimuli, which ranged from 50 to 1,100 msec, with each experiment covering only a portion of these times. Variations in equipment, instructions, response mode, light intensity, and position in the visual field were introduced. The main result was a report of fusion of the binocular inputs, with little or no suppression for about 40% to about 80% of the foveal presentations of 100 msec or less, the percentage varying over the three experiments. Partial fusion (some, but not all, lines crossed) was indicated in another 40% or more of the reports. Lateral positioning of the stimuli 6 deg from the fixation point, but not at 3 deg or less, resulted mainly in reports of monocular inputs. The possibility, and serious implication for studies of rivalry phenomena, of range effects (Poulton) from the within-subjects variation of duration of stimuli was noted.

Foveal cone density shows a rapid postnatal maturation in the marmoset monkey

Abstract: The spatial and temporal pattern of cone packing during marmoset foveal development was explored to understand the variables involved in creating a high acuity area. Retinal ages were between fetal day (Fd) 125 and 6 years. Cone density was determined in wholemounts using a new hexagonal quantification method. Wholemounts were labeled immunocytochemically with rod markers to identify reliably the foveal center. Cones were counted in small windows and density was expressed as cones × 103/mm2 (K). Two weeks before birth (Fd 125-130), cone density had a flat distribution of 20-30 K across the central retina encompassing the fovea. Density began to rise at postnatal day 1 (Pd 1) around, but not in, the foveal center and reached a parafoveal peak of 45-55 K by Pd 10. Between Pd 10 and 33, there was an inversion such that cone density at the foveal center rose rapidly, reaching 283 K by 3 months and 600 K by 5.4 months. Peak foveal density then diminished to 440 K at 6 months and older. Counts done in sections showed the same pattern of low foveal density up to Pd 1, a rapid rise from Pd 30 to 90, followed by a small decrease into adulthood. Increasing foveal cone density was accompanied by 1) a reduction in the amount of Muller cell cytoplasm surrounding each cone, 2) increased stacking of foveal cone nuclei into a mound 6-10 deep, and 3) a progressive narrowing of the rod-free zone surrounding the fovea. Retaining foveal cones in a monolayer precludes final foveal cone densities above 60 K. However, high foveal adult cone density (300 K) can be achieved by having cone nuclei stack into columns and without reducing their nuclear diameter. Marmosets reach adult peak cone density by 3-6 months postnatal, while macaques and humans take much longer. Early weaning and an arboreal environment may require rapid postnatal maturation of the marmoset fovea.