Visual receptive fields of neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) move in space with the eye movements of fixation.

We tested the hypothesis that receptive field (RF) locations of visual cortex cells maintain a fixed location on the retina and move in space with movements of the eye. Responses to a bar swept across the RF were recorded from 29 neurons in V1 (26) and V2 (3) of alert monkeys while precisely monitoring the eye movements of fixation. There was a tight correlation and a near unity ratio between eye position and RF position. This implies that RFs of V1 neurons and at least some V2 neurons are fixed to specific retinal locations, rather than being shifted on the retina by attention-controlled mechanisms. V1 neurons thus differ from those polysensory neurons whose RF locations on the retina are dynamically altered to maintain a desired position in space.