Good vision depends on one part of the brain

The size of the primary visual cortex along with the amount of tissue in the brain dedicated to processing information from the visual field features the good eyesight. A study found a new link between brain structure and behavior.

By looking at the structure of the primary visual cortex, we can understand how well a person sees. By demonstrating this link, we can better understand what determines the differences between people in perceiving and interacting with the surrounding visual environment.

Marc Himmelberg, coordinator of the study

In sight, the primary visual cortex (V1) makes a map of the image we are looking at. However, it does not have the actual dimensions.

Picture a New York subway map showing Staten Island as smaller than Manhattan. The V1 works the same way: it magnifies the center of the image we’re looking at, shrinking the peripheral areas.

Jonathan Winawer, study author

This is explained by the fact that the V1 major brain tissue dedicated to our central field of vision. To better understand the relationship between sight and V1, they used a functional magnetic resonance of the 29 volunteers. Mapping the size of their primary visual cortex took place. V1’s tissue was then estimated to see how committed it was to processing information in different parts of the visual field.

The result was that volunteers with a larger V1 had better contrast sensitivity than those with a small V1. Individuals with more V1 tissue responsible for processing information in a specific area of ​​the visual field had greater sensitivity to contrast in that area. Always compared to those who had less V1 for the same area.

In other words, the larger the area of ​​the primary visual cortex devoted to encoding a specific visual area, the better the vision in that area.

Marisa Carrasco, author of the study