The topography of high-order human object areas

Trends Cogn Sci. 2002 Apr 1;6(4):176-184. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(02)01870-3.

Abstract

Cortical topography is one of the most fundamental organizing principles of cortical areas. One such topography - eccentricity mapping - is present even in high-order, ventral stream visual areas. Within these areas, different object categories have specific eccentricity biases. In particular, faces, letters and words appear to be associated with central visual-field bias, whereas buildings are associated with a peripheral one. We propose that resolution needs are an important factor in organizing object representations: objects whose recognition depends on analysis of fine detail will be associated with central-biased representations, whereas objects whose recognition entails large-scale integration will be more peripherally biased.