Computational neuroimaging of human visual cortex

Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a new neuroimaging method for prob ing the intact, alert, human brain. With this tool, brain activity that has been hidden can now be measured. Recent advances in measuring and understa nding human neural responses underlying motion, color, and pattern percepti on are reviewed. In individual human brains, we can now identify the positi ons of several retinotopically organized visual areas; measure retinotopic organization within these areas; identify the location of a motion-sensitiv e region in individual brains; measure responses associated with contrast, color, and motion; and measure effects of attentional modulation on visuall y evoked responses. By framing experiments and analyses as questions about visual computation, these neuroimaging measurements can be coupled closely with those from other basic vision-science methods.