Psychology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Apr;1224(1):63-80. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05954.x.
This review summarizes recent ideas about the cortical circuits for seeing words, an important part of the brain system for reading. Historically, the link between the visual cortex and reading has been contentious. One influential position is that the visual cortex plays a minimal role, limited to identifying contours, and that information about these contours is delivered to cortical regions specialized for reading and language. An alternative position is that specializations for seeing words develop within the visual cortex itself. Modern neuroimaging measurements-including both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion weighted imaging with tractography (DTI) data-support the position that circuitry for seeing the statistical regularities of word forms develops within the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, which also contains important circuitry for seeing faces, colors, and forms. This review explains new findings about the visual pathways, including visual field maps, as well as new findings about how we see words. The measurements from the two fields are in close cortical proximity, and there are good opportunities for coordinating theoretical ideas about function in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex.
这篇综述总结了有关阅读脑系统中重要部分——单词视觉处理皮质回路的最新观点。从历史上看，视觉皮质与阅读之间的联系一直存在争议。一个有影响力的观点认为，视觉皮质的作用微乎其微，仅限于识别轮廓，而这些轮廓的信息则传递到专门用于阅读和语言的皮质区域。另一种观点则认为，单词视觉的专门化是在视觉皮质内部发展起来的。现代神经影像学测量方法——包括功能磁共振成像(fMRI)和弥散张量成像结合轨迹追踪(DTI)数据——支持了这样一种观点，即词形统计规律的视觉回路是在包含重要面孔、颜色和形状视觉回路的腹侧枕颞皮质中发展起来的。本综述解释了有关视觉通路的新发现，包括视野图，以及有关我们如何看单词的新发现。这两个领域的测量结果在皮质附近非常接近，为协调腹侧枕颞皮质功能的理论观点提供了很好的机会。
