## Primary Visual Cortex: Awareness and Blindsight >[!abstract] >The primary visual cortex, or V1, is the principal telencephalic recipient of visual input in humans and monkeys. It is unique among cortical areas in that its destruction results in chronic blindness, leading to speculation that it may have a special or direct role in generating visual awareness. To explore this issue we review experiments that have used two powerful paradigms, psychophysical visual suppression and chronic V1 ablation, each of which disrupts the ability to perceive salient visual stimuli. We focus on recent studies from the nonhuman primate using anatomical, neurophysiological and behavioral paradigms to understand V1's role in perception. We also review findings pertaining to the basis of unconscious vision, or blindsight, that can occur after V1 damage. We conclude that the critical role of V1 in primate vision follows naturally from its position as a bottleneck of visual signals, but that there is little evidence to support its direct contribution to visual awareness. > [!meta]+ Metadata > **Sources**: [online](http://zotero.org/users/12616610/items/ET3K2NEJ) [local](zotero://select/library/items/ET3K2NEJ) [pdf](file:////Users/eliatorre/Zotero/storage/68SK4A57/Leopold%20-%202012%20-%20Primary%20Visual%20Cortex%20Awareness%20and%20Blindsight.pdf) > **Year**: 2012 > **Authors**: David A. Leopold > **Bibliography**: Leopold, D. A. (2012). Primary Visual Cortex: Awareness and Blindsight. _Annual Review of Neuroscience_, _35_(1), 91–109. [https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-062111-150356](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-062111-150356) > **Cite Key:** [[leopoldPrimaryVisualCortex2012]] > **Tags:** #V1, #Visual-Cortex, #Primary-Visual-Cortex, #Visual-Awareness, #Consciousness, #Blindsight, #Primate-Cortex, #Visual-Perception, #Cortical-Lesion, #Neuropsychology, #Cerebral-Cortex, #🟢 >**Related**: [[crickAreWeAware1995]] >**Related**: [[soonUnconsciousDeterminantsFree2008]] >**Related**: [[kentridgeAttentionAwarenessBlindsight1999]] >**Related**: [[polonskyNeuronalActivityHuman2000]] >**Related**: [[tongPrimaryVisualCortex2003]] >**Related**: [[leopoldActivityChangesEarly1996]] >**Related**: [[donnerOppositeNeuralSignatures2008]] >**Related**: [[moutoussisRelationshipCorticalActivation2002]] >**Related**: [[laureysNeuralCorrelateAwareness2005]] ## Annotations %% Import Date: 2023-10-05T22:19:37.961+02:00 %%