PHYLOGENETIC INTERPRETATION OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VISUAL CORTEX

Abstract

Two aspects of the problem of localization of function in the brain have always commanded the attention of neurologic investigators. These may be called, for convenience, the horizontal localization—the geography of functions in any one neural level, such as the cortex—and the vertical localization—the contribution of successive neural levels to the function in question. With respect to visual function, the problems of horizontal localization are the problems of identifying the regions of the brain concerned with vision and of analyzing the spatial relations within such regions. Recently great advances have been made in the clinical and anatomic study of the projection of the retina on the primary optic centers, the visual radiation and the calcarine area of the cortex. Few problems remain on which all investigators do not essentially agree. No adequate answer, however, can be found for the problem of the levels of function within the visual system. From