The invitation by the editors of the series "studies of brain function"
to contribute a monograph on the visual cortex gives me the opportunity
to present in a concentrated manner much of the work I have done on the
visual cortical areas of cat and monkey. However, the field of visual
cortical physi- ology is so active and so diverse that the presentation
of only my own work would have given a very incomplete view of visual
cortical functioning. Therefore this monograph also reviews most of the
studies carried out on the subject in the last two decades. Where
possible I have tried not only to describe the cortical machinery but
also its possible functional purpose regarding vision. In doing this I
have expressed my personal views rather than just reviewing the
experimental facts. Much of the work presented in this monograph has
been supported by the National Research Council of Belgium and the
Research Council of the Catholic University of Leuven. I express my
gratitude to them. I have en- joyed collaborating in these studies with
P. O. Bishop, H. Kato, H. Kennedy, K. P. Hoffmann, H. Maes, J. Duysens,
E. Vandenbussche, and H. van der Glas. I am much indebted to all those
who have commented on earlier versions of this monograph: J. Allman, H.
Barlow, J. BuBier, M. Callens, J. Duysens, O. J. Griisser, P. Heggelund,
H. Kennedy, L. C. Orban and L. Palmer.