Abstract
Functional organization of the primary visual cortex (V1) was reviewed with particular reference to retinotopic representation of visual field, laminar organization, stimulus-specific response properties and functional columns in V1. The parallel information processing system consists of at least two channels, the magnocellular channel, dealing with brightness contrast and motion of visual stimuli, and parvocellular channel, dealing with color and form. These two channels are retinal in origin and meet in V1. Newly differentiated three pathways dealing color, form and motion carry information from V1 to distinct areas in V2. Columnar structures such as ocular dominance column, orientation column and cytochrome oxidase-rich blob are functional modules for processing particular kinds of information coming from a given point in the visual field. Even though it is not clear that how the locally processed information is integrated across the V1, an introduction of newly developed technique, in vivo optical recording of cortical activity, into the study is expected to make a marked progress in understanding of the temporal and spatial integration of functions in V1.
