Individual gaze shapes diverging neural representations

Abstract

Complex visual stimuli evoke diverse patterns of gaze, but previous research suggests their neural representations are shared across brains. Here, we used hyperalignment to compare visual responses in inferior temporal cortex between observers viewing identical stimuli. We find that individual eye movements enhance cortical visual responses, but also lead to representational divergence. Pairwise differences in gaze predict pairwise representational divergence, suggesting that individual gaze sculpts individual visual worlds.