We have a new paper just published, investigating the ability to localize visual targets when a portion of the primary visual cortex (V1) is lesioned. Patients with such lesions lose conscious perception within the affected visual field portion, but they exhibit residual performance capabilities (called “blindsight”). Our collaborators Tadashi Isa and Masatoshi Yoshida have established a viable experimental model for this phenomenon, and the current study investigated how informative cues can allow the saccadic system to localize targets that the subjects are normally completely “blind” to.
The paper can be read here, and it was part of a Special Research Topic on Limbic-Brainstem Roles in Perception, Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior.