The metabolic activity pattern of the monkey visual cortex was mapped quantitatively with [14C]-2-deoxyglucose during the performance of a visually guided reaching task. After bandpass filtering of the reconstructed two-dimensional metabolic maps of areas V1 and V2, alternating bands of high and low metabolic activity were apparent in control and experimental hemispheres. The spatial arrangement of active bands was studied with two-dimensional spectral analysis, and bands were found to be more organized in the experimental monkey. In area V1 of the control monkey the spectral amplitude was spread over a wider range of directions and frequencies than in the experimental subject. The finding that layer IV is characterized by more complex spectra than layers I through III suggests the coexistence of more than one active columnar system in the geniculorecipient layer. In area V2, stripes running almost perpendicular to the V1/V2 border were found along with superimposed patches of enhanced metabolic activity. In the experimental hemispheres, the corresponding spectra were extremely sharp yielding a constant periodicity. It is suggested that the well-organized columnar arrangement within areas V1 and V2 of the experimental hemispheres emerges from the diffusely organized background network of activity patterns in the control state.