Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Foveal pRF properties in the visual cortex depend on the extent of stimulated visual field

Gokulraj Prabhakaran, Joana Carvalho, Azzurra Invernizzi, Martin Kanowski, Remco J. Renken, Frans W. Cornelissen, View ORCID ProfileMichael B. Hoffmann
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.28.923045
Gokulraj Prabhakaran
1Department of Ophthalmology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Joana Carvalho
2Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Azzurra Invernizzi
2Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Martin Kanowski
3Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Remco J. Renken
2Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
4Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Netherlands
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Frans W. Cornelissen
2Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michael B. Hoffmann
1Department of Ophthalmology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
5Center for Behavioural Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Michael B. Hoffmann
  • For correspondence: michael.hoffmann@med.ovgu.de
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Previous studies demonstrated that alterations in functional MRI derived receptive field (pRF) properties in cortical projection zones of retinal lesions can erroneously be mistaken for cortical large-scale reorganization in response to visual system pathologies. We tested, whether such confounds are also evident in the normal cortical projection zone of the fovea for simulated peripheral visual field defects. We applied fMRI-based visual field mapping of the central visual field at 3 Tesla in eight controls to compare the pRF properties of the central visual field of a reference condition (stimulus radius: 14°) and two conditions with simulated peripheral visual field defect, i.e., with a peripheral gray mask, stimulating only the central 7° or 4° radius. We quantified, for the cortical representation of the actually stimulated visual field, the changes in the position and size of the pRFs associated with reduced peripheral stimulation using conventional and advanced pRF modeling. We found foveal pRF-positions (≤3°) to be significantly shifted towards the periphery (p<0.05, corrected). These pRF-shifts were largest for the 4° condition [visual area (mean eccentricity shift): V1 (0.9°), V2 (0.9°), V3 (1.0°)], but also evident for the 7° condition [V1 (0.5°), V2 (0.5°), V3 (0.9°)]. Further, an overall enlargement of pRF-sizes was observed. These findings indicate the dependence of foveal pRF parameters on the spatial extent of the stimulated visual field. Consequently, our results imply that, previously reported similar findings in patients with actual peripheral scotomas need to be interpreted with caution and indicate the need for adequate control conditions in investigations of visual cortex reorganization.

Highlights

  1. Foveal pRF properties change in controls with restricted peripheral stimulation

  2. pRFs shift in position and enlarge in size for reduced stimulation extent

  3. Alterations in pRF characteristics in patients should be interpreted with caution

  4. Adequate control conditions needed in investigations of visual cortex plasticity

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted January 29, 2020.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Foveal pRF properties in the visual cortex depend on the extent of stimulated visual field
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Foveal pRF properties in the visual cortex depend on the extent of stimulated visual field
Gokulraj Prabhakaran, Joana Carvalho, Azzurra Invernizzi, Martin Kanowski, Remco J. Renken, Frans W. Cornelissen, Michael B. Hoffmann
bioRxiv 2020.01.28.923045; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.28.923045
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Foveal pRF properties in the visual cortex depend on the extent of stimulated visual field
Gokulraj Prabhakaran, Joana Carvalho, Azzurra Invernizzi, Martin Kanowski, Remco J. Renken, Frans W. Cornelissen, Michael B. Hoffmann
bioRxiv 2020.01.28.923045; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.28.923045

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4087)
  • Biochemistry (8762)
  • Bioengineering (6479)
  • Bioinformatics (23341)
  • Biophysics (11750)
  • Cancer Biology (9149)
  • Cell Biology (13248)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7417)
  • Ecology (11369)
  • Epidemiology (2066)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15087)
  • Genetics (10399)
  • Genomics (14009)
  • Immunology (9121)
  • Microbiology (22040)
  • Molecular Biology (8779)
  • Neuroscience (47368)
  • Paleontology (350)
  • Pathology (1420)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2482)
  • Physiology (3704)
  • Plant Biology (8050)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1431)
  • Synthetic Biology (2208)
  • Systems Biology (6016)
  • Zoology (1249)