TY - JOUR TI - Parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway AU - Doudlah, Raymond AU - Chang, Ting-Yu AU - Thompson, Lowell W AU - Kim, Byounghoon AU - Sunkara, Adhira AU - Rosenberg, Ari A2 - Freedman, David J A2 - Moore, Tirin A2 - Janssen, Peter VL - 11 PY - 2022 DA - 2022/08/11 SP - e78712 C1 - eLife 2022;11:e78712 DO - 10.7554/eLife.78712 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.78712 AB - Visually guided behaviors require the brain to transform ambiguous retinal images into object-level spatial representations and implement sensorimotor transformations. These processes are supported by the dorsal ‘where’ pathway. However, the specific functional contributions of areas along this pathway remain elusive due in part to methodological differences across studies. We previously showed that macaque caudal intraparietal (CIP) area neurons possess robust 3D visual representations, carry choice- and saccade-related activity, and exhibit experience-dependent sensorimotor associations (Chang et al., 2020b). Here, we used a common experimental design to reveal parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and the formation of sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway by extending the investigation to V3A, a major feedforward input to CIP. Higher-level 3D representations and choice-related activity were more prevalent in CIP than V3A. Both areas contained saccade-related activity that predicted the direction/timing of eye movements. Intriguingly, the time course of saccade-related activity in CIP aligned with the temporally integrated V3A output. Sensorimotor associations between 3D orientation and saccade direction preferences were stronger in CIP than V3A, and moderated by choice signals in both areas. Together, the results explicate parallel representations, hierarchical transformations, and functional associations of visual and saccade-related signals at a key juncture in the ‘where’ pathway. KW - 3D vision KW - oculomotor KW - saccade KW - choice KW - sensorimotor KW - parieto-occipital junction JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -