<p><strong>Short answer</strong><br>
Associative brain areas are not retinotopically organized. Only lower visual areas more upstream from these areas are organized in such a predictable, low-level way. Higher up, things get complicated and unpredictable. </p>

<p><strong>Background</strong><br>
<a href="http://hubel.med.harvard.edu/book/b10.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Visual <strong>receptive fields</strong></a> and <a href="http://fourier.eng.hmc.edu/e180/lectures/v1/node3.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">retinotopy</a> are generally <strong>well-preserved in the periphery and subcortical areas</strong> (<em>e.g.</em> in the <a href="http://webvision.med.utah.edu/book/part-i-foundations/simple-anatomy-of-the-retina/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">retina</a>, <a href="https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/eye-disorders/optic-nerve-disorders/overview-of-optic-nerve-disorders" rel="nofollow noreferrer">optic nerve</a> and the <a href="http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~david/courses/perception/lecturenotes/V1/lgn-V1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">LGN in the brainstem</a>) and lower cortical areas (<em>e.g.</em>, <a href="http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~david/courses/perception/lecturenotes/V1/lgn-V1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">V1</a> and <a href="http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/George_Mather/Linked%20Pages/Physiol/Cortex.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">V2</a>) (<em>e.g.</em>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006899374902959" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Palmer &amp; Rosenquist (1974)</a>). Typically, receptive fields are <strong>larger and less well-defined in <a href="http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/George_Mather/Linked%20Pages/Physiol/Cortex.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">higher visual areas</a></strong> and are virtually absent in the <a href="http://neuronaldynamics.epfl.ch/online/Ch12.S1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">associative cortices</a>, where complex associations within and between modalities are made (<em>e.g.</em>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/11/12/1182/492324/Estimating-Receptive-Field-Size-from-fMRI-Data-in" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Smith <em>et al</em>. (2011)</a>). </p>

<p>Consider the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-streams_hypothesis" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ventral stream</a> in the visual pathway as an example (Fig. 1). Here, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11524/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">primary visual cortex (V1)</a> shows simple representations of the retinal image with retinotopicity. However, along the way to the associative cortices, cells become responsive to progressively more complicated structures, including specific faces. </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RqZ6d.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RqZ6d.jpg" alt="ventral stream"></a><br>
<sup>Fig. 1. The ventral ('what') stream of the visual system. source: <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RqZ6d.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kaiser &amp; Haselhuhn (2017)</a></sup> </p>

<p><sub><strong>References</strong><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://hubel.med.harvard.edu/book/b10.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kaiser and Haselhuhn, <em>J Neurosci</em> (2017); <strong>37</strong>(8): 1965-7</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006899374902959" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Palmer &amp; Rosenquist, <em>Brain Res</em> (1974); <strong>67</strong>(1): 27-42</a><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/11/12/1182/492324/Estimating-Receptive-Field-Size-from-fMRI-Data-in" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Smith <em>et al</em>., <em>Cerebral Cortex</em> (2011); <strong>11</strong>(12): 1182–90</a></sub></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T21:15:54.400Z
Might be worth mentioning that the concept of a cortical column is a bit controversial in higher order cortical areas. Personally I don't mind to use the columnar terminology to refer to organization within depth of cortex, and obviously nearby neurons still share connectivity and function in higher-order cortex, but the abrupt feature shifts observed in lower-order cortex are absent.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-08-14T20:32:09.857Z
2018-07-08T18:39:47.343Z
2018-07-08T18:39:47.343Z
AliceD
<p>The retinotopic, area-based connectivity patterns of the columnar receptive fields in the visual cortex are well-established.</p>

<p><strong>Do any mappings of the columnar receptive field connectivity patterns exist for associative brain regions?</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-29T02:32:11.143Z
Some useful related questions to help improve your own:
- https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/5735/4397
- https://biology.stackexchange.com/q/42293/5427
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-30T23:33:29.040Z
following @Seanny123 's lead, I landed on a [2016 article by Robert Moss](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307476361_A_Theory_on_the_Singular_Function_of_the_Hippocampus_Facilitating_the_Binding_of_New_Circuits_of_Cortical_Columns) which seems to be a promising intro to the topic for my interests. I don't feel confident creating an actual answer based on this however, so I'll just leave this here as a footnote.
Iridian Kiiskinen
<neuroscience><perception><neurophysiology><sensation><sensory-perception>
Is there knowledge of the receptive field patterns of cortical columns in associative brain regions?
Iridian Kiiskinen
# Is there knowledge of the receptive field patterns of cortical columns in associative brain regions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-05-27)

The retinotopic, area-based connectivity patterns of the columnar receptive fields in the visual cortex are well-established.

**Do any mappings of the columnar receptive field connectivity patterns exist for associative brain regions?**

**Tags:** neuroscience, perception, neurophysiology, sensation, sensory-perception

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Some useful related questions to help improve your own: - https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/5735/4397 - https://biology.stackexchange.com/q/42293/5427  
> **username_0**: following @username_1 's lead, I landed on a [2016 article by Robert Moss](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307476361_A_Theory_on_the_Singular_Function_of_the_Hippocampus_Facilitating_the_Binding_of_New_Circuits_of_Cortical_Columns) which seems to be a promising intro to the topic for my interests. I don't feel confident creating an actual answer based on this however, so I'll just leave this here as a footnote.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-08-14. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

**Short answer**  
Associative brain areas are not retinotopically organized. Only lower visual areas more upstream from these areas are organized in such a predictable, low-level way. Higher up, things get complicated and unpredictable.

**Background**  
[Visual **receptive fields**](http://hubel.med.harvard.edu/book/b10.htm) and [retinotopy](http://fourier.eng.hmc.edu/e180/lectures/v1/node3.html) are generally **well-preserved in the periphery and subcortical areas** (*e.g.* in the [retina](http://webvision.med.utah.edu/book/part-i-foundations/simple-anatomy-of-the-retina/), [optic nerve](https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/eye-disorders/optic-nerve-disorders/overview-of-optic-nerve-disorders) and the [LGN in the brainstem](http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~david/courses/perception/lecturenotes/V1/lgn-V1.html)) and lower cortical areas (*e.g.*, [V1](http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~david/courses/perception/lecturenotes/V1/lgn-V1.html) and [V2](http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/George_Mather/Linked%20Pages/Physiol/Cortex.html)) (*e.g.*, [Palmer & Rosenquist (1974)](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006899374902959)). Typically, receptive fields are **larger and less well-defined in [higher visual areas](http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/George_Mather/Linked%20Pages/Physiol/Cortex.html)** and are virtually absent in the [associative cortices](http://neuronaldynamics.epfl.ch/online/Ch12.S1.html), where complex associations within and between modalities are made (*e.g.*, [Smith *et al*. (2011)](https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/11/12/1182/492324/Estimating-Receptive-Field-Size-from-fMRI-Data-in)).

Consider the [ventral stream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-streams_hypothesis) in the visual pathway as an example (Fig. 1). Here, the [primary visual cortex (V1)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11524/) shows simple representations of the retinal image with retinotopicity. However, along the way to the associative cortices, cells become responsive to progressively more complicated structures, including specific faces.

[![ventral stream](https://i.sstatic.net/RqZ6d.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/RqZ6d.jpg)  
Fig. 1. The ventral ('what') stream of the visual system. source: [Kaiser & Haselhuhn (2017)](https://i.sstatic.net/RqZ6d.jpg)

**References**  
**-** [Kaiser and Haselhuhn, *J Neurosci* (2017); **37**(8): 1965-7](http://hubel.med.harvard.edu/book/b10.htm)  
**-** [Palmer & Rosenquist, *Brain Res* (1974); **67**(1): 27-42](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006899374902959)  
**-** [Smith *et al*., *Cerebral Cortex* (2011); **11**(12): 1182–90](https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/11/12/1182/492324/Estimating-Receptive-Field-Size-from-fMRI-Data-in)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Might be worth mentioning that the concept of a cortical column is a bit controversial in higher order cortical areas. Personally I don't mind to use the columnar terminology to refer to organization within depth of cortex, and obviously nearby neurons still share connectivity and function in higher-order cortex, but the abrupt feature shifts observed in lower-order cortex are absent.  

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