Emergence of Intrinsic Representations of Images by Feedforward and Feedback Processes and Bioluminescent Photons in Early Retinotopic Areas

TL;DR

This paper proposes a biophysical model of visual imagery involving redox reactions and bioluminescence in early visual cortex areas, suggesting a complex interplay of picture-like and language-like representations during visual perception.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hypothesis linking redox biochemistry and bioluminescence to the emergence of intrinsic visual representations in the brain.

Findings

Biophysical processes may underpin visual imagery.

Feedback and feedforward loops are interpreted as a homunculus viewing biophysical images.

Redox and bioluminescent reactions are involved in early visual cortex activity.

Abstract

Recently, we put forwarded a redox molecular hypothesis involving the natural biophysical substrate of visual perception and imagery. Here, we explicitly propose that the feedback and feedforward iterative operation processes can be interpreted in terms of a homunculus looking at the biophysical picture in our brain during visual imagery. We further propose that the brain can use both picture-like and language-like representation processes. In our interpretation, visualization (imagery) is a special kind of representation i.e., visual imagery requires a peculiar inherent biophysical (picture-like) mechanism. We also conjecture that the evolution of higher levels of complexity made the biophysical picture representation of the external visual world possible by controlled redox and bioluminescent nonlinear (iterative) biochemical reactions in the V1 and V2 areas during visual imagery. Our proposal deals only with the primary level of visual representation (i.e. perceived "scene").