Functional Specialization in the Lower and Upper Visual Fields in Humans: ItsEcological Origins and Neurophysiological Implications

摘要

Functional specialization in the lower and upper visual fields in humans isanalyzed in relation to the origins of the primate visual system. Processing differences between the vertical hemifields are related to the distinction between near (peripersonal) and far (extrapersonal) space, which are biased toward the lower and upper visual fields, respectively. Nonlinear/global processing is required in the lower visual field in order to perceive the optically degraded and diplopic images in near vision, whereas objects in far vision are searched for and recognized primarily using linear/local perceptual mechanisms.