视觉系统基于映射到视网膜上的像来获取外部世界的信息,因此,视觉信息首先在视网膜坐标系中进行编码和表征。然而,大量的研究显示,眼睛的注视方向对视觉皮层神经元的活动强度具有广泛的调节作用,这一机制能够实现基于视网膜以外参考坐标的视觉加工过程。近些年的研究发现,视觉信息能在多种不同的参考坐标下进行表征,这些机制在稳定的视觉表征、多感觉模态整合与视觉运动信息转换中起到重要作用。
The visual system acquires information about the external world based on the retinal images; therefore, visual information is initially encoded and primarily represented in the reference frame of retina(i.e. retinotopic or eye-centered representation). However, many studies have revealed that activity of neurons in visual cortical areas can be modulated by gaze direction(i.e. eye position relative to the head). This mechanism can mediate visual processes in non-retinotopic frames of reference. Recent studies have revealed that visual information is represented in different reference frames for a broad range of perceptual and behavioral functions, including stable visual representations, multisensory integration and sensorimotor transformation.