Information Processing Strategies and Pathways in the Primate Visual System .

The mammalian visual pathway is an amazingly complex and intricate system, capable of processing vast amounts of sensory information for use in the precise control of both immediate and long-term behavior. In many respects, the system is very well engineered for efficient extraction and encoding of information. To give just one example, it is well known that the spacing between photoreceptors in the region of highest acuity is closely matched to the limits of resolution imposed by the physical optics of the eye (Snyder & Miller, 1977). In this chapter, we consider how the notion of good engineering can help to understand information processing strategies used throughout the visual system. While some aspects of human vision are mentioned, our analysis will focus on the macaque monkey, which has a superb visual system very similar to that of humans.