QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Livingstone, M. S. Articles by Hubel, D. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Livingstone, M. S. Articles by Hubel, D. H.

 Previous Article

Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 4, 309-356, Copyright © 1984 by Society for Neuroscience

ARTICLE

Anatomy and physiology of a color system in the primate visual cortex

MS Livingstone and DH Hubel

Staining for the mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome oxidase reveals an array of dense regions (blobs) in the primate primary visual cortex. They are most obvious in the upper layers, 2 and 3, but can also be seen in layers 4B, 5, and 6, in register with the blobs in layers 2 and 3. We compared cells inside and outside blobs in macaque and squirrel monkeys, looking at their physiological responses and anatomical connections. Cells within blobs did not show orientation selectivity, whereas cells between blobs were highly orientation selective. Receptive fields of blob cells had circular symmetry and were of three main types, Broad-Band Center-Surround, Red-Green Double-Opponent, and Yellow-Blue Double-Opponent. Double-Opponent cells responded poorly or not at all to white light in any form, or to diffuse light at any wavelength. In contrast to blob cells, none of the cells recorded in layer 4C beta were Double-Opponent: like the majority of cells in the parvocellular geniculate layers, they were either Broad-Band or Color- Opponent Center-Surround, e.g., red-on-center green-off-surround. To our surprise cells in layer 4C alpha were orientation selective. In tangential penetrations throughout layers 2 and 3, optium orientation, when plotted against electrode position, formed long, regular, usually linear sequences, which were interrupted but not perturbed by the blobs. Staining area 18 for cytochrome oxidase reveals a series of alternating wide and narrow dense stripes, separated by paler interstripes. After small injections of horseradish peroxidase into area 18, we saw a precise set of connections from the blobs in area 17 to thin stripes in area 18, and from the interblob regions in area 17 to interstripes in area 18. Specific reciprocal connections also ran from thin stripes to blobs and from interstripes to interblobs. We have not yet determined the area 17 connections to thick stripes in area 18. In addition, within area 18 there are stripe-to-stripe and interstripe- to-interstripe intrinsic connections. These results suggest that a system involved in the processing of color information, especially color-spatial interactions, runs parallel to and separate from the orientation-specific system. Color, encoded in three coordinates by the major blob cell types, red-green, yellow-blue, and black-white, can be transformed into the three coordinates, red, green, and blue, of the Retinex algorithm of Land.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. R. Davis, J. J. Sloper, M. M. Neveu, C. R. Hogg, M. J. Morgan, and G. E. Holder Differential Changes in Color and Motion-Onset Visual Evoked Potentials from Both Eyes in Early- and Late-Onset Strabismic Amblyopia Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., October 1, 2008; 49(10): 4418 - 4426. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. I. Braun, N. Mennie, C. Rasche, A. C. Schutz, M. J. Hawken, and K. R. Gegenfurtner Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements to Isoluminant Targets J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2008; 100(3): 1287 - 1300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. N. Johnson, M. J. Hawken, and R. Shapley The Orientation Selectivity of Color-Responsive Neurons in Macaque V1 J. Neurosci., August 6, 2008; 28(32): 8096 - 8106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Moeller, W. A. Freiwald, and D. Y. Tsao Patches with Links: A Unified System for Processing Faces in the Macaque Temporal Lobe Science, June 6, 2008; 320(5881): 1355 - 1359. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Gur and D. M. Snodderly Physiological differences between neurons in layer 2 and layer 3 of primary visual cortex (V1) of alert macaque monkeys J. Physiol., May 1, 2008; 586(9): 2293 - 2306. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. BEDWELL, J. M. BROWN, and D. M. OREM The effect of a red background on location backward masking by structure Percept Psychophys, April 1, 2008; 70(3): 503 - 507. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. D. Lu and A. W. Roe Functional Organization of Color Domains in V1 and V2 of Macaque Monkey Revealed by Optical Imaging Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2008; 18(3): 516 - 533. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Tailby, S. G. Solomon, N. T. Dhruv, and P. Lennie Habituation Reveals Fundamental Chromatic Mechanisms in Striate Cortex of Macaque J. Neurosci., January 30, 2008; 28(5): 1131 - 1139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. A. Orban Higher Order Visual Processing in Macaque Extrastriate Cortex Physiol Rev, January 1, 2008; 88(1): 59 - 89. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. D. Van Hooser Similarity and Diversity in Visual Cortex: Is There a Unifying Theory of Cortical Computation? Neuroscientist, December 1, 2007; 13(6): 639 - 656. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Gur and D. M. Snodderly Direction selectivity in V1 of alert monkeys: evidence for parallel pathways for motion processing J. Physiol., December 1, 2007; 585(2): 383 - 400. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. D. Lu and A. W. Roe Optical Imaging of Contrast Response in Macaque Monkey V1 and V2 Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2007; 17(11): 2675 - 2695. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. R. Duffy, K. M. Murphy, M. P. Frosch, and M. S. Livingstone Cytochrome Oxidase and Neurofilament Reactivity in Monocularly Deprived Human Primary Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, June 1, 2007; 17(6): 1283 - 1291. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. D. Horwitz, E. J. Chichilnisky, and T. D. Albright Cone Inputs to Simple and Complex Cells in V1 of Awake Macaque J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2007; 97(4): 3070 - 3081. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. C. Sincich, C. M. Jocson, and J. C. Horton Neurons in V1 Patch Columns Project to V2 Thin Stripes Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2007; 17(4): 935 - 941. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Adams and J. C. Horton Monocular Cells Without Ocular Dominance Columns J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2006; 96(5): 2253 - 2264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. R. Conway and D. Y. Tsao Color Architecture in Alert Macaque Cortex Revealed by fMRI Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2006; 16(11): 1604 - 1613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. R. Conway and M. S. Livingstone Spatial and temporal properties of cone signals in alert macaque primary visual cortex. J. Neurosci., October 18, 2006; 26(42): 10826 - 10846. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Gur and D. M. Snodderly High Response Reliability of Neurons in Primary Visual Cortex (V1) of Alert, Trained Monkeys Cereb Cortex, June 1, 2006; 16(6): 888 - 895. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. C. Sincich and J. C. Horton Input to V2 Thin Stripes Arises from V1 Cytochrome Oxidase Patches J. Neurosci., November 2, 2005; 25(44): 10087 - 10093. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Heimel, S. D. Van Hooser, and S. B. Nelson Laminar Organization of Response Properties in Primary Visual Cortex of the Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2005; 94(5): 3538 - 3554. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Xu, W. H. Bosking, L. E. White, D. Fitzpatrick, and V. A. Casagrande Functional Organization of Visual Cortex in the Prosimian Bush Baby Revealed by Optical Imaging of Intrinsic Signals J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2005; 94(4): 2748 - 2762. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Gur, I. Kagan, and D. M. Snodderly Orientation and Direction Selectivity of Neurons in V1 of Alert Monkeys: Functional Relationships and Laminar Distributions Cereb Cortex, August 1, 2005; 15(8): 1207 - 1221. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Briggs and E. M. Callaway Laminar Patterns of Local Excitatory Input to Layer 5 Neurons in Macaque Primary Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, May 1, 2005; 15(5): 479 - 488. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. D. Horwitz, E. J. Chichilnisky, and T. D. Albright Blue-Yellow Signals Are Enhanced by Spatiotemporal Luminance Contrast in Macaque V1 J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2005; 93(4): 2263 - 2278. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. R. Polimeni, D. Granquist-Fraser, R. J. Wood, and E. L. Schwartz Physical limits to spatial resolution of optical recording: Clarifying the spatial structure of cortical hypercolumns PNAS, March 15, 2005; 102(11): 4158 - 4163. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. W. Roe, H. D. Lu, and C. P. Hung Cortical processing of a brightness illusion PNAS, March 8, 2005; 102(10): 3869 - 3874. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Shmuel, M. Korman, A. Sterkin, M. Harel, S. Ullman, R. Malach, and A. Grinvald Retinotopic Axis Specificity and Selective Clustering of Feedback Projections from V2 to V1 in the Owl Monkey J. Neurosci., February 23, 2005; 25(8): 2117 - 2131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. J. Tehovnik, W. M. Slocum, C. E. Carvey, and P. H. Schiller Phosphene Induction and the Generation of Saccadic Eye Movements by Striate Cortex J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2005; 93(1): 1 - 19. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. M. Friedman, L. M. Chen, and A. W. Roe Modality maps within primate somatosensory cortex PNAS, August 24, 2004; 101(34): 12724 - 12729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Xu, W. Bosking, G. Sary, J. Stefansic, D. Shima, and V. Casagrande Functional Organization of Visual Cortex in the Owl Monkey J. Neurosci., July 14, 2004; 24(28): 6237 - 6247. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. A. Billock and B. H. Tsou A Role for Cortical Crosstalk in the Binding Problem: Stimulus-driven Correlations that Link Color, Form, and Motion J. Cogn. Neurosci., July 1, 2004; 16(6): 1036 - 1048. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. G. Claeys, P. Dupont, L. Cornette, S. Sunaert, P. Van Hecke, E. De Schutter, and G. A. Orban Color Discrimination Involves Ventral and Dorsal Stream Visual Areas Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2004; 14(7): 803 - 822. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. N. Johnson, M. J. Hawken, and R. Shapley Cone Inputs in Macaque Primary Visual Cortex J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2004; 91(6): 2501 - 2514. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. S. Caywood, B. Willmore, and D. J. Tolhurst Independent Components of Color Natural Scenes Resemble V1 Neurons in Their Spatial and Color Tuning J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2004; 91(6): 2859 - 2873. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Xiao and D. J. Felleman Projections from primary visual cortex to cytochrome oxidase thin stripes and interstripes of macaque visual area 2 PNAS, May 4, 2004; 101(18): 7147 - 7151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. B.H. Tootell, K. Nelissen, W. Vanduffel, and G. A. Orban Search for Color 'Center(s)' in Macaque Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2004; 14(4): 353 - 363. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Nakagama and S. Tanaka Self-organization Model of Cytochrome Oxidase Blobs and Ocular Dominance Columns in the Primary Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2004; 14(4): 376 - 386. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. G. Solomon, J. W. Peirce, and P. Lennie The Impact of Suppressive Surrounds on Chromatic Properties of Cortical Neurons J. Neurosci., January 7, 2004; 24(1): 148 - 160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. N. Elston Cortex, Cognition and the Cell: New Insights into the Pyramidal Neuron and Prefrontal Function Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2003; 13(11): 1124 - 1138. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Adams and J. C. Horton The Representation of Retinal Blood Vessels in Primate Striate Cortex J. Neurosci., July 9, 2003; 23(14): 5984 - 5997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. C. Sincich and J. C. Horton Independent Projection Streams from Macaque Striate Cortex to the Second Visual Area and Middle Temporal Area J. Neurosci., July 2, 2003; 23(13): 5684 - 5692. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. R. Duffy and M. S. Livingstone Distribution of Non-phosphorylated Neurofilament in Squirrel Monkey V1 Is Complementary to the Pattern of Cytochrome-oxidase Blobs Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2003; 13(7): 722 - 727. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Grossberg How does the cerebral cortex work? development, learning, attention, and 3-D vision by laminar circuits of visual cortex. Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev, March 1, 2003; 2(1): 47 - 76. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. M. Usrey, M. P. Sceniak, and B. Chapman Receptive Fields and Response Properties of Neurons in Layer 4 of Ferret Visual Cortex J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2003; 89(2): 1003 - 1015. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. Lund, A. Angelucci, and P. C. Bressloff Anatomical Substrates for Functional Columns in Macaque Monkey Primary Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2003; 13(1): 15 - 24. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Kagan, M. Gur, and D. M. Snodderly Spatial Organization of Receptive Fields of V1 Neurons of Alert Monkeys: Comparison With Responses to Gratings J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2002; 88(5): 2557 - 2574. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. M. Dow Orientation and Color Columns in Monkey Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2002; 12(10): 1005 - 1015. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. R. Conway, D. H. Hubel, and M. S. Livingstone Color Contrast in Macaque V1 Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2002; 12(9): 915 - 925. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Landisman and D. Y. Ts'o Color Processing in Macaque Striate Cortex: Relationships to Ocular Dominance, Cytochrome Oxidase, and Orientation J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2002; 87(6): 3126 - 3137. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Landisman and D. Y. Ts'O Color Processing in Macaque Striate Cortex: Electrophysiological Properties J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2002; 87(6): 3138 - 3151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Vanduffel, R. B.H. Tootell, A. A. Schoups, and G. A. Orban The Organization of Orientation Selectivity Throughout Macaque Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, June 1, 2002; 12(6): 647 - 662. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Moutoussis and S. Zeki Responses of Spectrally Selective Cells in Macaque Area V2 to Wavelengths and Colors J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2002; 87(4): 2104 - 2112. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Shostak, Y. Ding, J. Mavity-Hudson, and V. A. Casagrande Cortical Synaptic Arrangements of the Third Visual Pathway in Three Primate Species: Macaca mulatta, Saimiri sciureus, and Aotus trivirgatus J. Neurosci., April 1, 2002; 22(7): 2885 - 2893. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Okubo and C. Michimata Hemispheric Processing of Categorical and Coordinate Spatial Relations in the Absence of Low Spatial Frequencies J. Cogn. Neurosci., February 1, 2002; 14(2): 291 - 297. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D Chan, S J Crutch, and E K Warrington A disorder of colour perception associated with abnormal colour after-images: a defect of the primary visual cortex J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, October 1, 2001; 71(4): 515 - 517. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Hoshino, S. Inoue, Y. Kashimori, and T. Kambara A Hierarchical Dynamical Map as a Basic Frame for Cortical Mapping and Its Application to Priming Neural Comput., August 1, 2001; 13(8): 1781 - 1810. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				S. A. Engel and C. S. Furmanski Selective Adaptation to Color Contrast in Human Primary Visual Cortex J. Neurosci., June 1, 2001; 21(11): 3949 - 3954. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. R. Conway Spatial Structure of Cone Inputs to Color Cells in Alert Macaque Primary Visual Cortex (V-1) J. Neurosci., April 15, 2001; 21(8): 2768 - 2783. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. W. Spitzer, M. B. Calford, J. C. Clarey, J. D. Pettigrew, and A. W. Roe Spontaneous and Stimulus-Evoked Intrinsic Optical Signals in Primary Auditory Cortex of the Cat J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2001; 85(3): 1283 - 1298. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

K. M. Murphy, K. R. Duffy, D. G. Jones, and D. E. Mitchell Development of Cytochrome Oxidase Blobs in Visual Cortex of Normal and Visually Deprived Cats Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2001; 11(2): 122 - 135. [Abstract]