Mesoscale developmental rivalry in the human extrastriate visual cortex
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In humans and non-human primates, the extrastriate visual cortex contains fine-scale columns selectively responsive to motion, disparity, and color. However, the developmental interplay between these functional modules remains poorly understood. Using high-resolution fMRI, we compared the mesoscale organization of extrastriate cortex in 16 individuals with normal vision and 15 participants with amblyopia (PwA) caused by strabismus (n=8) or anisometropia (n=7). In controls, the cortical territory occupied by disparity-selective columns exhibited a competitive relationship with that of motion- and color-selective columns. Consistent with this pattern, PwA showed a reduction in disparity-selective responses accompanied by enhanced motion- and color-selective activity, as well as expansion of the cortical territory allocated to them. Our results show that the mesoscale modules of the human visual system are rivals in development allowing intact functions to usurp those that are compromised.
Institutions: Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Northeastern University, University of California, Irvine, University of California System, Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Boston Children's Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of York
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: Max Planck School of Cognition, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre d'Imagerie BioMédicale, National Institutes of Health, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
OpenAlex ID: W4415174579