Electrical induction of vision

We assess what monkeys see during electrical stimulation of primary visual cortex (area V1) and relate the findings to visual percepts evoked electrically from human VI. Discussed are: (1) the electrical, cytoarchitectonic, and visuo-behavioural factors that affect the ability of monkeys to detect currents in VI; (2) the methods used to ascertain what monkeys see when electrical stimulation is delivered to VI; (3) a corticofugal mechanism for the induction of visual percepts; and (4) the quantity of information transferred to V1 by electrical stimulation. Experiments are proposed that should advance our understanding of how electrical stimulation affects macaque and human VI. This work contributes to the development of a cortical visual prosthesis for the blind. We dedicate this work to the late Robert W. Doty. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.