W. Vanduffel et al., A METABOLIC MAPPING STUDY OF ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION AND DETECTIONTASKS IN THE CAT, European journal of neuroscience, 9(6), 1997, pp. 1314-1328
Increasing evidence suggests that a large number of distinct cortical
areas and associated subcortical structures participate in the process
ing of visual information and that different aspects of visual scenes
are evaluated in different areas. This necessitates identification of
cortical and subcortical regions cooperating in particular visual task
s. Using the 2-deoxyglucose technique, we monitored the differential a
ctivation of areas in the cat visual cortex participating in an orient
ation discrimination and a detection task, Concordant with previous le
sion studies, we found increased activity levels in area 17 in the dis
crimination condition relative to the detection condition. In addition
, the 2-deoxyglucose technique revealed discrimination-related increas
ed activations in the claustrum, the putamen and in parts of the anter
omedial, anterolateral and posterolateral lateral suprasylvian visual
areas. Regions activated differentially with the detection task compri
sed subdivisions of areas 17, 18, 19 and 21, posterior area 7 (7p), se
veral areas of the posterior part of the middle and posterior suprasyl
vian sulcus, the pulvinar complex and the superior colliculus. These r
esults show that the 2-deoxyglucose technique is useful to investigate
cognitive brain functions, and that different sets of cortical and su
bcortical regions are activated during two visual tasks with similar v
isual stimulation.