Vivid visual mental imagery in the absence of the primary visual cortex
Vivid visual mental imagery in the absence of the primary visual cortex
The role of the primary visual cortex in visual mental imagery has provided significant debate in the imagery literature. Functional neuroimaging studies show considerable variation depending on task and technique. Patient studies can be difficult to interpret due to the diverse nature of cortical damage. The type of cortical damage in patient SBR is exceedingly rare as it is restricted to the gray matter of the calcarine sulcus. In this study, we show that in spite of his near-complete cortical blindness, SBR exhibits vivid visual mental imagery both behaviorally and when measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The pattern of cortical activation to visual mental imagery in SBR is indistinguishable from individual sighted subjects, in contrast to the visual perceptual responses, which are greatly attenuated.
1062–1070
Bridge, H.
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Harrold, S.
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Holmes, E.A.
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Stokes, M.
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Kennard, C.
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8 November 2012
Bridge, H.
4fc91448-b4c2-40aa-8a73-bfb64a2b482c
Harrold, S.
73a9a7cc-5bc0-4b23-a5ea-96f7741aead8
Holmes, E.A.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469
Stokes, M.
71730503-70ce-4e67-b7ea-a3e54579717f
Kennard, C.
9c4c944b-5c27-4aff-a61b-e9c41417f0a6
Bridge, H., Harrold, S., Holmes, E.A., Stokes, M. and Kennard, C.
(2012)
Vivid visual mental imagery in the absence of the primary visual cortex.
Journal of Neurology, 259, .
(doi:10.1007/s00415-011-6299-z).
Abstract
The role of the primary visual cortex in visual mental imagery has provided significant debate in the imagery literature. Functional neuroimaging studies show considerable variation depending on task and technique. Patient studies can be difficult to interpret due to the diverse nature of cortical damage. The type of cortical damage in patient SBR is exceedingly rare as it is restricted to the gray matter of the calcarine sulcus. In this study, we show that in spite of his near-complete cortical blindness, SBR exhibits vivid visual mental imagery both behaviorally and when measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The pattern of cortical activation to visual mental imagery in SBR is indistinguishable from individual sighted subjects, in contrast to the visual perceptual responses, which are greatly attenuated.
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Published date: 8 November 2012
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Local EPrints ID: 507978
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/507978
ISSN: 0340-5354
PURE UUID: d2f8b333-d5ec-4078-88ef-98b839a16a07
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Date deposited: 08 Jan 2026 17:55
Last modified: 09 Jan 2026 03:08
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Author:
H. Bridge
Author:
S. Harrold
Author:
E.A. Holmes
Author:
C. Kennard
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