Open AccessRight hemispheric dominance of visual phenomena evoked by intracerebral stimulation of the human visual cortex
Author(s) -
Jonas Jacques,
Frismand Solène,
Vignal JeanPierre,
ColnatCoulbois Sophie,
Koessler Laurent,
Vespignani Hervé,
Rossion Bruno,
Maillard Louis
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.22407
Subject(s) - visual cortex , neuroscience , psychology , visual n1 , illusion , n2pc , visual perception , stimulation , occipital lobe , lateralization of brain function , visual system , temporal lobe , cortex (anatomy) , optical illusion , perception , epilepsy
Electrical brain stimulation can provide important information about the functional organization of the human visual cortex. Here, we report the visual phenomena evoked by a large number (562) of intracerebral electrical stimulations performed at low‐intensity with depth electrodes implanted in the occipito‐parieto‐temporal cortex of 22 epileptic patients. Focal electrical stimulation evoked primarily visual hallucinations with various complexities: simple (spot or blob), intermediary (geometric forms), or complex meaningful shapes (faces); visual illusions and impairments of visual recognition were more rarely observed. With the exception of the most posterior cortical sites, the probability of evoking a visual phenomenon was significantly higher in the right than the left hemisphere. Intermediary and complex hallucinations, illusions, and visual recognition impairments were almost exclusively evoked by stimulation in the right hemisphere. The probability of evoking a visual phenomenon decreased substantially from the occipital pole to the most anterior sites of the temporal lobe, and this decrease was more pronounced in the left hemisphere. The greater sensitivity of the right occipito‐parieto‐temporal regions to intracerebral electrical stimulation to evoke visual phenomena supports a predominant role of right hemispheric visual areas from perception to recognition of visual forms, regardless of visuospatial and attentional factors. Hum Brain Mapp 35:3360–3371, 2014 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .