View-invariant representations in ancestral cortex.

ABSTRACT: A multilayered, thalamorecipient visual cortex emerged ~320 million years ago in stem amniotes. Despite its importance for understanding the evolution of cortical computation, its function remains unknown. We recorded visually evoked responses in the dorsal cortex of behaving turtles, considered a mammalian neocortex homolog. Using a spatial oddball paradigm, we found tuning to stimuli in deviant positions alongside adaptation to standard positions within the visual field. Eye tracking demonstrated that responses remained spatially selective despite gaze shifts altering retinal stimulus position. Thus, the turtle cortex encodes unexpected visual stimuli using computations invariant to retinal position, a property previously observed only in higher mammalian cortices. These results indicate

SUBMITTER: Becker M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12652236 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature