#visualcortex — Public Fediverse posts

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: 🧠👁️ Neuroscientists in the #Netherlands scanned volunteers watching #Hollywood films and found eight body maps in the #visualcortex that mirror the #brain’s touch-processing layout.

The maps translate what we see into signals that feel almost physical, which explains why you might wince when someone else gets hurt. The findings could inform #autism #research and brain-computer interfaces.

👉 https://scitechdaily.com/why-you-flinch-when-someone-else-gets-hurt/

#neuroscience #somatosensory #empathy #amsterdam #nature #science #brain #psychology #emotion

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: 🧠👁️ Neuroscientists in the #Netherlands scanned volunteers watching #Hollywood films and found eight body maps in the #visualcortex that mirror the #brain’s touch-processing layout.

The maps translate what we see into signals that feel almost physical, which explains why you might wince when someone else gets hurt. The findings could inform #autism #research and brain-computer interfaces.

👉 https://scitechdaily.com/why-you-flinch-when-someone-else-gets-hurt/

#neuroscience #somatosensory #empathy #amsterdam #nature #science #brain #psychology #emotion

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: 🧠👁️ Neuroscientists in the #Netherlands scanned volunteers watching #Hollywood films and found eight body maps in the #visualcortex that mirror the #brain’s touch-processing layout.

The maps translate what we see into signals that feel almost physical, which explains why you might wince when someone else gets hurt. The findings could inform #autism #research and brain-computer interfaces.

👉 https://scitechdaily.com/why-you-flinch-when-someone-else-gets-hurt/

#neuroscience #somatosensory #empathy #amsterdam #nature #science #brain #psychology #emotion

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: 🧠👁️ Neuroscientists in the #Netherlands scanned volunteers watching #Hollywood films and found eight body maps in the #visualcortex that mirror the #brain’s touch-processing layout.

The maps translate what we see into signals that feel almost physical, which explains why you might wince when someone else gets hurt. The findings could inform #autism #research and brain-computer interfaces.

👉 https://scitechdaily.com/why-you-flinch-when-someone-else-gets-hurt/

#neuroscience #somatosensory #empathy #amsterdam #nature #science #brain #psychology #emotion

"Thalamic activation of the visual cortex at the single-synapse level", Chen et al. 2026.
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aec9923

There was earlier work using a much coarser technique which found the same result:

"Specificity of monosynaptic connections from thalamus to visual cortex", Reid and Alonso, 1995.
https://www.nature.com/articles/378281a0

Compare figure 3 in Reid & Alonso 1995 with Fig 5E in Chen et al. 2026.

But as Chen et al. 2026 says:

"Earlier experiments that used paired recordings of an orientation-selective L4 neuron in the cat visual cortex and a corresponding dLGN cell (5 [Reid and Alonso, 1995]) suggested, but could not prove, a synaptic connectivity scheme consistent with the H&W model. Our approach enabled the identification and characterization of nearly the complete set of active dLGN synaptic inputs to a single orientation-selective L4 neuron. The spatial alignment of receptive field centers of dLGN inputs matched the preferred orientation of the corresponding neuron. Thus, our findings directly validate core predictions of the connectivity proposed by the H&W [Hubel and Wiesel's] model."

By the way, Clay Reid was a trainee of H&W.

#neuroscience #OrientationSelectivity #VisualCortex #vision

"Thalamic activation of the visual cortex at the single-synapse level", Chen et al. 2026.
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aec9923

There was earlier work using a much coarser technique which found the same result:

"Specificity of monosynaptic connections from thalamus to visual cortex", Reid and Alonso, 1995.
https://www.nature.com/articles/378281a0

Compare figure 3 in Reid & Alonso 1995 with Fig 5E in Chen et al. 2026.

But as Chen et al. 2026 says:

"Earlier experiments that used paired recordings of an orientation-selective L4 neuron in the cat visual cortex and a corresponding dLGN cell (5 [Reid and Alonso, 1995]) suggested, but could not prove, a synaptic connectivity scheme consistent with the H&W model. Our approach enabled the identification and characterization of nearly the complete set of active dLGN synaptic inputs to a single orientation-selective L4 neuron. The spatial alignment of receptive field centers of dLGN inputs matched the preferred orientation of the corresponding neuron. Thus, our findings directly validate core predictions of the connectivity proposed by the H&W [Hubel and Wiesel's] model."

By the way, Clay Reid was a trainee of H&W.

#neuroscience #OrientationSelectivity #VisualCortex #vision

How does the #brain encode features of environmental structure while viewing a 3D scene? This study shows that the human #VisualCortex hierarchically encodes nearby boundaries, revealing a distance-before-orientation principle of spatial layout processing @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3NoUjh2

How does the #brain encode features of environmental structure while viewing a 3D scene? This study shows that the human #VisualCortex hierarchically encodes nearby boundaries, revealing a distance-before-orientation principle of spatial layout processing @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3NoUjh2

🧠 New paper by Cowley et al: Compact deep neural network models of the #VisualCortex .

The authors show that neural responses in primate visual cortex can be predicted by much smaller, interpretable #DeepNeuralMetworks than previously assumed. By constraining model architecture and parameters, they achieve strong predictive performance while revealing computational structure in cortical processing.

📄 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10150-1

#Neuroscience #AI #CompNeuro #DNN

🧠 New paper by Cowley et al: Compact deep neural network models of the #VisualCortex .

The authors show that neural responses in primate visual cortex can be predicted by much smaller, interpretable #DeepNeuralMetworks than previously assumed. By constraining model architecture and parameters, they achieve strong predictive performance while revealing computational structure in cortical processing.

📄 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10150-1

#Neuroscience #AI #CompNeuro #DNN

Syeda, …, @computingnature et al., bioRxiv (2026) find that #NeuralActivity in #mouse #VisualCortex is dominated by #orofacial movements, not eye movements. Across darkness and visual stimulation, eye movements explain only a small fraction of neural variance and are largely correlated with whisking and sniffing. Movement signals thus strongly shape #V1 activity during free viewing.

📄 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.04.703800

#Neuroscience

Syeda, …, @computingnature et al., bioRxiv (2026) find that #NeuralActivity in #mouse #VisualCortex is dominated by #orofacial movements, not eye movements. Across darkness and visual stimulation, eye movements explain only a small fraction of neural variance and are largely correlated with whisking and sniffing. Movement signals thus strongly shape #V1 activity during free viewing.

📄 https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.04.703800

#Neuroscience

The #neurons that let us see what isn’t there
A standard #opticalillusion triggers specific neurons in the #visual system of mice.
“Illusions are fun, but they are also a gateway to perception,” says Hyeyoung Shin, assistant professor of neuroscience at Seoul National Universitym first author of a new study in Nature Neuroscience that identified a specific population of neurons in #visualcortex—dubbed IC-encoders—and shows a direct role in representing a visual illusion.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/10/the-neurons-that-let-us-see-what-isnt-there/

The #neurons that let us see what isn’t there
A standard #opticalillusion triggers specific neurons in the #visual system of mice.
“Illusions are fun, but they are also a gateway to perception,” says Hyeyoung Shin, assistant professor of neuroscience at Seoul National Universitym first author of a new study in Nature Neuroscience that identified a specific population of neurons in #visualcortex—dubbed IC-encoders—and shows a direct role in representing a visual illusion.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/10/the-neurons-that-let-us-see-what-isnt-there/

🧠 Rao & Ballard’s (1999) spatial #PredictiveCoding theory gets strong support: Zhang et al. (2025) show in mouse #VisualCortex that predictive coding is primarily spatial, not temporal. #2P #imaging of ~20,000 neurons found mismatch responses only when new spatial landmarks appeared, but not when sequences were reordered:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.17.676794

#Neuroscience

🧠 New study by Lempel et al. (2025): Visual experience after eye opening aligns #feedforward inputs (L4) and #RecurrentNetworks (L2/3) in mouse #VisualCortex. This improved alignment, together with enhanced orientation discrimination, creates coherent, reliable sensory codes, revealing how experience shapes stable #cortical representations:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.09.012

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #Plasticity #CorticalCircuits

🧠 New study by Lempel et al. (2025): Visual experience after eye opening aligns #feedforward inputs (L4) and #RecurrentNetworks (L2/3) in mouse #VisualCortex. This improved alignment, together with enhanced orientation discrimination, creates coherent, reliable sensory codes, revealing how experience shapes stable #cortical representations:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.09.012

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #Plasticity #CorticalCircuits

In their study, Morales-Gregorio et al. show that #NeuralManifolds in #V1 shift dynamically under top-down influence from #V4. They identify two distinct population activity states – eyes open vs. closed – with notably stronger V4→V1 signaling in the foveal region during eyes-open periods. A cool example of how cognitive context reshapes visual cortical dynamics.

🌍 https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(24)00699-5

#CompNeuro #Neuroscience #VisualCortex #NeuralManifolds #SystemsNeuroscience

A new study by Timothy Sit, Célian Bimbard, Anna Lebedeva, @MatteoCarandini, Philip Coen, and Kenneth Harris challenges the classic cortical column model. Using in vivo recordings, they show that layers 2/3 and 5 in #V1 encode distinct visual features — functionally dissociated, not redundant. A cool look into laminar specialization.

🌍 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.30.662366v2

#Neuroscience #VisualCortex #CorticalLayers #SystemsNeuroscience

Our paper, "Stimulus representations in visual cortex shaped by spatial attention and microsaccades" was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420704122

#Attention #VisualAttention #SpatialAttention #VisualCortex #Microsaccades #Saccades #EyeMovements #Representation #Dynamics #ActiveCognition #ActiveSensing #Decoding #V4cortex #ITcortex #Pulvinar #Neuroscience #PNAS

Our paper, "Stimulus representations in visual cortex shaped by spatial attention and microsaccades" was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420704122

#Attention #VisualAttention #SpatialAttention #VisualCortex #Microsaccades #Saccades #EyeMovements #Representation #Dynamics #ActiveCognition #ActiveSensing #Decoding #V4cortex #ITcortex #Pulvinar #Neuroscience #PNAS

This study shows that communication between the visual cortex and the brain's #language system is necessary for the representation of object knowledge in the #VisualCortex and for corresponding behaviors in humans @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4k1Jkoz

This study shows that communication between the visual cortex and the brain's #language system is necessary for the representation of object knowledge in the #VisualCortex and for corresponding behaviors in humans @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4k1Jkoz

Scientists find abnormally slow neural dynamics in visual cortex of depressed individuals https://www.psypost.org/scientists-find-abnormally-slow-neural-dynamics-in-visual-cortex-of-depressed-individuals/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Neuroscience #Depression #MentalHealth #BrainImaging #VisualCortex

How do we process images with high vs low #memorability? @Blahner @Yalda_Mhz &co show that only images with high memorability scores undergo extended processing late in time throughout the ventral visual stream, including early #VisualCortex #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4cDqn8u

How do we process images with high vs low #memorability? @Blahner @Yalda_Mhz &co show that only images with high memorability scores undergo extended processing late in time throughout the ventral visual stream, including early #VisualCortex #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4cDqn8u

Hierarchical #VAEs provide a normative account of motion processing in the primate brain and why the #VisualCortex is hierarchically organized – check this #NeurIPS2023 paper by Vafaii et al. (2023):

🌍 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.27.559646v2

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #VAE

Alignment of feedback and feedforward explains, how feedback connects in #VisualCortex contribute to perceptual experiences such as #imagination, de-occlusions, or #hallucinations) – Check this #NeurIPS2023 paper by Tahereh Toosi and Elias B. Issa:

🌍 https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.20599

#CompNeuro #Neuroscience #Perception

Alignment of feedback and feedforward explains, how feedback connects in #VisualCortex contribute to perceptual experiences such as #imagination, de-occlusions, or #hallucinations) – Check this #NeurIPS2023 paper by Tahereh Toosi and Elias B. Issa:

🌍 https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.20599

#CompNeuro #Neuroscience #Perception

New work by Sanzeni et al. (2023): "Mechanisms underlying reshuffling of #visual responses by #optogenetic stimulation in mice and monkeys"

🌍 https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(23)00706-7

#Neuroscience #VisualCortex #Modelling

Visual working memories are abstractions of percepts – New #preprint by Duan and Curtis (2023)

🌍 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.01.569634v1

#Perception #Neuroscience #WorkingMemory #VisualCortex

Neurons in primary #VisualCortex (area V1) are driven by both sensory stimuli & nonsensory events; this study shows that during #visual & #auditory decisions, rat V1 represents multiple task features in an overlapping & distributed fashion #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4840HPq

Neurons in primary #VisualCortex (area V1) are driven by both sensory stimuli & nonsensory events; this study shows that during #visual & #auditory decisions, rat V1 represents multiple task features in an overlapping & distributed fashion #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4840HPq

Axel Borst will talk about "How fly #neurons compute the direction of #VisualMotion"

📍Monday, October 9, 4pm CET
🌍 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEedr0Kq88g

#CompNeuro #Neuroscience #Flies #VisualCortex

Katrin Franke ( @katrinfranke) will give a talk on "Visual #InformationProcessing in mice - From the retina to #cortex"

⏰ Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 4.00pm CEST
🌍 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Jvt7DF-atGj_Wa9lO5HEz2az9pUZ8OYBXoi6fByKKCg/viewform?edit_requested=true

#CompNeuro #VisualCortex #Neuroscience

Do any of us realize we see iMax every single day and never even question it?

#claustrum #visualcortex

Do any of us realize we see iMax every single day and never even question it?

#claustrum #visualcortex

#ChristofKoch - How are #Brains #Conscious?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kQ3-Hgxg_0&ab_channel=CloserToTruth

#Philosophy #PhilosophyOfScience #PhilosophyOfConsciousness #Consciousness #Mind #PhilosophyOfMind #Neuroscience #Neurophysiology #Vision #Brain #VisualCortex #CloserToTruth #RobertKuhn

#ChristofKoch - How are #Brains #Conscious?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kQ3-Hgxg_0&ab_channel=CloserToTruth

#Philosophy #PhilosophyOfScience #PhilosophyOfConsciousness #Consciousness #Mind #PhilosophyOfMind #Neuroscience #Neurophysiology #Vision #Brain #VisualCortex #CloserToTruth #RobertKuhn

Check out #SENSORIUM2023, a competition 🏆 on predicting large scale mouse primary #visualcortex activity 🐭:

🌎 https://www.sensorium-competition.net / https://github.com/ecker-lab/sensorium_2023
thread on #twitter: https://twitter.com/SensoriumComp/status/1669685980478025728

#SENSORIUM #computationalneuroscience #compneuro

Calcium imaging in alert juvenile mice shows how the receptive field-tuning properties of neurons in #VisualCortex change with abnormal vision during the critical period for #OcularDominance plasticity. @BrownTommyc1989 & @awmcgeelab #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3V1fNQ6

Calcium imaging in alert juvenile mice shows how the receptive field-tuning properties of neurons in #VisualCortex change with abnormal vision during the critical period for #OcularDominance plasticity. @BrownTommyc1989 & @awmcgeelab #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3V1fNQ6

Calcium imaging in alert juvenile mice shows how the receptive field-tuning properties of neurons in #VisualCortex change with abnormal vision during the critical period for #OcularDominance plasticity. @BrownTommyc1989 & @awmcgeelab #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3V1fNQ6

Calcium imaging in alert juvenile mice shows how the receptive field-tuning properties of neurons in #VisualCortex change with abnormal vision during the critical period for #OcularDominance plasticity. @BrownTommyc1989 & @awmcgeelab #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3V1fNQ6

Calcium imaging in alert juvenile mice shows how the receptive field-tuning properties of neurons in #VisualCortex change with abnormal vision during the critical period for #OcularDominance plasticity. @BrownTommyc1989 & @awmcgeelab #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3V1fNQ6

Calcium imaging in alert juvenile mice shows how the receptive field-tuning properties of neurons in #VisualCortex change with abnormal vision during the critical period for #OcularDominance plasticity. @BrownTommyc1989 & @awmcgeelab #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/3V1fNQ6

“I couldn't really imagine, what it's like to not imagine…” 

PHOTOREALISTIC IMAGINATION - APHANTASIA - HYPERPHANTASIA

Imagine…rather picture.. no, visualize a place in your m.....

What if none of these were an option for your brain?  No going to your happy place, where the flowers are in bloom and the tea is hot?  No being comforted by the golden sunset on the beach, or the vista from atop the mountain in your minds eye.  Yes, “I couldn't really imagine what it's like to not imagine…”

The experience of those that live with Aphantasia, can be accompanied by memory issues and difficulty remembering faces. This is not to say, that these individuals cannot retain information, or remember intricate detail.  When giving descriptions, people with Aphantasian will often cite detailed facts and data, rather than using imagery. Many are likely to be introverted, as well.

Some information on Aphantasia, dates back to the1880s but, there hasn’t been a lot of attention on the subject until recent years. The brain’s cerebral cortex is thought to function differently, causing interference with mental visualization. One view on Aphantasia considers, it may only be a different way of thinking; suggesting the Neurodivergent, rather than the neurological.

With Hyperphantasia, some people experience powerful imagery generation within the mind; or being said to have “Photorealistic Imagination”.

"Typically, individuals with hyper-imagination are able to construct imagery that is beyond detailed and brightly outlined—resulting in some individuals having the capability even to experience a 360-degree vision.."

Paul Deretskiy

The contrast between Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia, is just another fascinating reflection of the human mind.  The links below are definitely a rabbit hole worth exploring. It seems I may know a bit about photorealistic imagery, as well as little more about myself.   Imagining what one with Aphantasia may experience, I’m at a loss...

I imagine it may feel… like “being blind in your mind”.  I couldn’t imagine, “what it’s like not to imagine”.

"Brain" Artwork below by John Hain: Buy him a cup?

https://pixabay.com/images/id-1000062/

Paul Deretskiy’s piece:
https://memoryos.com/article/hyperphantasia-revealing-the-truth-about-photorealistic-imagination

Photorealistic  Imagination:
https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/hyperphantasia/

Aphantasia:
https://www.stemata.org/blog/what-is-the-loss-of-the-minds-eye-or-aphantasia

UK Aphantasia discussion:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-34039054

When you are blind in your mind:
https://www.verywellmind.com/aphantasia-overview-4178710

What is Aphantasia:
https://aphantasia.com/what-is-aphantasia/

#PhotorealisticImagination #Aphantasia #Hyperphantasia #aphasia #WernickesArea #BrocasArea #visualization
#DisabilitySolidarity #Imagination #CrossDisabilitySupport #ActuallyAutistic #BrainInjury #VisualImpairment #VisualCortex
#NeurodivergentThinking
#InvisibleDisabilities #equality
#InvisibleDisabilityRights #imagine
#HashtagsNobodyWillEverSearch