As demonstrated by anatomical and physio- logical studies, the cerebral cortex consists of groups of cortical modules, each comprising populations of neurons with similar functional properties. This functional modularity exists in both sensory and association neocortices. However, the role of such cortical modules in perceptual and cognitive behavior is unknown. To aid in the examination of this issue we have applied the high spatial resolution optical imaging methodology to the study of awake, behaving animals. In this paper we report the optical imaging of orientation domains and blob structures, approximately 100-200 mu m in size, in visual cortex of the awake and behaving monkey. By overcom- ing the spatial limitations of other existing imaging methods, optical imaging will permit the study of a wide variety of cortical functions at the columnar level, including motor and cognitive functions traditionally studied with positron- emission tomography or functional MRI tcchniques
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