The surface area of human V1 predicts the subjective experience of object size.
D Samuel Schwarzkopf, Chen Song, Geraint Rees
Nature Neuroscience January 2011 DOI: 10.1038/nn.2706 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | The surface area of human primary visual cortex (V1) was strongly and negatively correlated with the magnitude of two common size-contrast visual illusions, in which physically identical objects appear different in size due to context. Because such illusions dissociate conscious perception from physical stimulation, the authors argue that V1 surface area predicts variability in conscious experience. |
Abstract
The surface area of human primary visual cortex (V1) varies substantially between individuals for unknown reasons. We found that this variability was strongly and negatively correlated with the magnitude of two common visual illusions, where two physically identical objects appear different in size as a result of their context. Because such illusions dissociate conscious perception from physical stimulation, our findings indicate that the surface area of V1 predicts variability in conscious experience.
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- What Brain Plasticity Reveals About the Nature of Consciousness: Commentary Frontiers in Psychology 2011
- How-tests for consciousness and direct neurophenomenal structuralism. Frontiers in Psychology June 27, 2024
- Studying the precuneus reveals structure-function-affect correlation in long-term meditators bioRxiv Preprint Server October 30, 2019
- Psilocybin alters visual contextual computations. Nature Communications November 21, 2025
- An Unavoidable Mind-Set Reversal: Consciousness in Vision Science. Brain Sciences July 22, 2024
and 4 more in the library