We describe a new kind of image representation in terms of local multi–modal Primitives. These Primitives are motivated by processing of the human visual system as well as by functional considerations. We discuss analogies of our representation to human vision and concentrate specifically on the implications of the necessity of communication of information in a complex multi-modal system.

The pictorial content of visual memories recalled by association is embodied by neuronal activity at the highest processing stages of primate visual cortex. This activity is elicited by top-down signals from the frontal lobe and recapitulates the bottom-up pattern normally obtained by the recalled stimulus. To explore the generality and mechanisms of this phenomenon, we recorded motion-sensitive neurons at an early stage of cortical processing. After monkeys learned to associate directions of motion with static shapes, these neurons exhibited unprecedented selectivity for the shapes. This emergent shape selectivity reflects activation of neurons representing the motion stimuli recalled by association, and it suggests that recall-related activity may be a general feature of neurons in visual cortex.