Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.05.04.077545v1?rss=1 Authors: Alvarez, I., Finlayson, N. J., Ei, S., de Haas, B., Greenwood, J. A., Schwarzkopf, D. S. Abstract: How much of our visual processing, and thus our visual perception, is inherited? Variations in perceptual judgments of the size of visual objects have been found to correlate with idiosyncratic differences in the spatial sensitivity of primary visual cortex. Here we tested their heritability using retinotopic mapping and psychophysical experiments on size perception. The spatial sensitivity of human visual cortex, quantified by population receptive field analysis, was more similar in monozygotic (MZ) than dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs, especially in extrastriate regions, suggesting a partial genetic determination. Furthermore, inter-individual differences in perceptual bias for size judgments - how large or small stimuli appear to an observer - showed considerable heritability. This contrasts with previously reported idiosyncrasies across visual field quadrants, which showed little evidence of heritability. Our findings are therefore consistent with heritability of broad, eccentricity-dependent properties of visual function and cortical architecture, while quadrant-specific idiosyncrasies appear to lack a genetic basis. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info