Vision: a systems neuroscience perspective

The visual system is the most studied part of the cortex, providing a basis for understanding not only visual processing per se but also the fundamental operations of the brain in general. Significant progress has been made in understanding neural structures sensitive to different visual attributes such as form, surface brightness, color and motion. Here, the basic neural structures and processing pathways for these visual features are reviewed. Dysfunctions in these processing pathways lead to deficits in the perception of different aspects of a visual object. In recent years, there is a growing interest in applying accumulated knowledge in vision science to investigate altered neural structures and abnormal perceptual processing observed in neurological disorders. Key issues and clinical studies are also discussed within the context of visual feature processing.