Blob (visual system)

Blobs are sections of the visual cortex where groups of neurons that are sensitive to color assemble in cylindrical shapes. They were first identified in 1979 by Margaret Wong-Riley when she used a cytochrome oxidase stain, from which they get their name.^[1] These areas receive input from parvocellular cells in layer 4Cβ of the primary visual cortex and output to the thin stripes of area V2. Interblobs are areas between blobs which receive the same input, but are sensitive to orientation instead of color. They output to the pale stripes of area V2.

References

1. Wong-Riley, Margaret (July 27, 1979). "Changes in the visual system of monocularly sutured or enucleated cats demonstrable with cytochrome oxidase histochemistry". Brain Research. 171 (1): 11–28. doi:10.1016/0006-8993(79)90728-5. PMID 223730.