The size of the primary visual cortex and the amount of brain tissue dedicated to processing visual information can indicate the quality of an individual’s contrast sensitivity, according to neuroscientists at New York University.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map the primary visual cortex (V1) of more than 24 people, researchers also measured the quantity of V1 tissue each had dedicated to processing visual information from different locations in their field of view. Their results, published in Nature Communications, showed larger V1 surface area corresponded with better contrast sensitivity. “The more local V1 surface area dedicated to encoding a specific location, the better the vision at that location,” wrote lead co-author Professor Marisa Carrasco. “Our findings show differences in visual perception are inextricably linked to differences in the structure of the primary visual cortex in the brain.”
