Two stream hypothesis of visual processing for navigation in mouse

• Published in: Current opinion in neurobiology Vol. 64; pp. 70 - 78
• Main Author: Saleem, Aman B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Animals; Brain Mapping; Mice; Virtual Reality; Vision, Ocular; Visual Cortex; Visual Perception
• ISSN: 0959-4388; 1873-6882; 1873-6882
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.03.009

•Spatial context modulates responses in the visual cortex during navigation.•Mouse higher visual areas show a bias in their coverage of the visual field.•We hypothesize that bias in visual field coverage relates to functional specialisation.•Landmark signals are likely processed by areas biased to the central visual field.•Self-motion signals are likely processed by areas biased to the peripheral visual field. Vision research has traditionally been studied in stationary subjects observing stimuli, and rarely during navigation. Recent research using virtual reality environments for mice has revealed that responses even in the primary visual cortex are modulated by spatial context — identical scenes presented in different positions of a room can elicit different responses. Here, we review these results and discuss how information from visual areas can reach navigational areas of the brain. Based on the observation that mouse higher visual areas cover different parts of the visual field, we propose that spatial signals are processed along two-streams based on visual field coverage. Specifically, this hypothesis suggests that landmark related signals are processed by areas biased to the central field, and self-motion related signals are processed by areas biased to the peripheral field.