Neurons with radial receptive fields in monkey area V4A: evidence of a subdivision of prelunate gyrus based on neuronal response properties

2002 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan N. Pigarev ◽  
Hans-Christoph Nothdurft ◽  
Sabine Kastner
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Area V4a ◽  
Prelunate Gyrus

Auditory response properties of neurons in deep layers of cat superior colliculus

1983 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 674-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Z. Wise ◽  
D. R. Irvine
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Free Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Noise Burst ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Excitatory Input ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Deep Layers ◽  
Spatial Fields

1. The auditory responses of 207 single neurons in the intermediate and deep layers of the superior colliculus (SC) of barbiturate -or chloralose-anesthetized cats were recorded extracellularly. Sealed stimulating systems incorporating calibrated probe microphone assemblies were employed to present tone- and noise-burst stimuli. 2. All acoustically activated neurons responded with onset responses to noise bursts. Of those neurons also tested with tonal stimuli, approximately 30% were unresponsive over the frequency range tested (0.1-40 kHz), while the others had higher thresholds to tones than to noise. 3. Details of frequency responsiveness were obtained for 55 neurons; 21 were broadly tuned, while 34 were sharply tuned with clearly defined characteristic frequencies (CFs). All sharply tuned neurons had CFs greater than or equal to 10 kHz. 4. The majority of neurons (81%) responded with latencies in the range 8-20 ms; only 11% of neurons had latencies greater than 30 ms. 5. Binaural response properties were examined for 165 neurons. The great majority (79%) received monaural excitatory input only from the contralateral ear (EO). However, most EO cells were binaurally influenced, the contralateral response being either inhibited (EO/I; 96 of 131 units) or facilitated (EO/F; 33 of 131 units) by simultaneous ipsilateral stimulation. Small subgroups were monaurally excited by either ear (EE cells; 8%) or were unresponsive monaurally but responded strongly to binaural stimulation (OO/F cells; 7%). 6. EO/I, EO/F, and OO/F neurons showed characteristic forms of sensitivity to interaural intensity differences (IIDs). The IID functions of EO/I neurons would be expected to produce large contralateral spatial receptive fields with clearly defined medial borders, such as have been described in studies of deep SC neurons employing free-field stimuli. 7. Preliminary evidence suggests a possible topographic organization of IID sensitivity in deep SC, such that the steeply sloping portion of the function (corresponding to the medial edge of the receptive field) is shifted laterally for EO/I neurons located more caudally in the nucleus. 8. The auditory properties of deep SC neurons are compared with previous reports and implications for the organization of auditory input are considered. The binaural properties and auditory spatial fields of deep SC neurons suggest that any representation of auditory space in this structure is unlikely to be based on restricted spatial fields.

Primary Afferent Neurons Innervating Guinea Pig Dura

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey M. Bove ◽  
Michael A. Moskowitz
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Superior Sagittal Sinus ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Afferent Neurons ◽  
Primary Afferent Neurons ◽  
Primary Afferent ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Thermal Thresholds ◽  
Sagittal Sinus

Bove, Geoffrey M. and Michael A. Moskowitz. Primary Afferent Neurons Innervating Guinea Pig Dura. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 299–308, 1997. We made recordings from filaments of guinea pig nasociliary nerve to study response properties of afferent axons innervating the anterior superior sagittal sinus and surrounding dura mater. We analyzed 38 units in 14 experiments. Units were initially located with the use of mechanical stimuli, and were then characterized by their conduction velocity and sensitivities to mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimuli. Single-unit recordings revealed innervation of dura and superior sagittal sinus by slowly conducting axons, mostly in the unmyelinated range. The receptive fields were 1–30 mm2, and typically had one to three punctate spots of highest sensitivity. All units tested responded to topical application of chemical agents. Ninety-seven percent of units responded to 10−5 M capsaicin, 79% responded to a mixture of inflammatory mediators, and 37% responded to an acidic buffer (pH 5). These data underline the importance of chemical sensitivity in intracranial sensation. Heat and cold stimuli evoked responses in 56 and 41% of units tested, respectively. Although the response patterns during heating were typical of polymodal nociceptors innervating other tissues, the thresholds were lower than for other tissues (32.3–42°C). Cooling led to a phasic discharge, with thresholds between 25 and 32°C. Although units had different combinations of responses to mechanical, chemical, and thermal stimuli, when grouped by their sensitivities the groups did not differ regarding mechanical thresholds or presence of ongoing activity. This suggests that meningeal primary afferents are relatively homogeneous. Sensitivities of these units are in general consistent with nociceptors, although the thermal thresholds differ. These data provide the first detailed report of response properties of intracranial primary afferent units, likely to be involved in transmission of nociception and possibly mediation of intracranial pain.

scholarly journals Sensory computations in the cuneate nucleus of macaques

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (49) ◽  
pp. e2115772118
Author(s):  
Aneesha K. Suresh ◽  
Charles M. Greenspon ◽  
Qinpu He ◽  
Joshua M. Rosenow ◽  
Lee E. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Cuneate Nucleus ◽  
Local Skin ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Conventional View ◽  
Random Dot Patterns ◽  
Object Features ◽  
Spatiotemporal Response

Tactile nerve fibers fall into a few classes that can be readily distinguished based on their spatiotemporal response properties. Because nerve fibers reflect local skin deformations, they individually carry ambiguous signals about object features. In contrast, cortical neurons exhibit heterogeneous response properties that reflect computations applied to convergent input from multiple classes of afferents, which confer to them a selectivity for behaviorally relevant features of objects. The conventional view is that these complex response properties arise within the cortex itself, implying that sensory signals are not processed to any significant extent in the two intervening structures—the cuneate nucleus (CN) and the thalamus. To test this hypothesis, we recorded the responses evoked in the CN to a battery of stimuli that have been extensively used to characterize tactile coding in both the periphery and cortex, including skin indentations, vibrations, random dot patterns, and scanned edges. We found that CN responses are more similar to their cortical counterparts than they are to their inputs: CN neurons receive input from multiple classes of nerve fibers, they have spatially complex receptive fields, and they exhibit selectivity for object features. Contrary to consensus, then, the CN plays a key role in processing tactile information.

Effect of TPMPA (GABACreceptor antagonist) on neuronal response properties in rat barrel cortex

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Mohammadi ◽  
Ali Shamsizadeh ◽  
Elham Salari ◽  
Iman Fatemi ◽  
Mohammad Allahtavakoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Response Properties

LES NEURONES DE LA FORMATION RÉTICULAIRE PONTO-BULBAIRE ET LA STIMULATION TRIGÉMINALE

1962 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-271
Author(s):  
Guy Lamarche ◽  
J.-M. Langlois
Keyword(s):  
Reticular Formation ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Central Zone ◽  
Painful Stimulus ◽  
Inhibitory Zone ◽  
Sensory Afferents ◽  
Reticular Neurons

A microphysiological study of 209 neurons of the bulbopontine reticular formation was carried out in 80 "encéphales isolés" cats. After physiological stimulations of the trigeminal nerve the following conclusions were arrived at: (1) A functional arrangement exists in the lower recticular formation. Clear differences were found between the medulla and pons. (2) The pontine reticular neurons receive mostly tactile impulses from very large receptive fields. (3) The bulbar neurons receive all modalities of the trigeminal nerve from usually limited and bilateral fields (except proprioception). Pain projects mainly in this part of the reticular core. A central zone of the medulla has all physiological types of cells and is coincidental with Magoun and Rhine's inhibitory zone. (4) There was no neuronal response typical of any sensation. (5) An increase in frequency of a response was obtained in various ways: by changing the origin of the stimulus, by-increasing the intensity of the stimulus or the area of stimulation, or by applying a painful stimulus when the cell also responded to touch. (6) It is suggested that the sensory afferents lose their specificity when they reach the reticular formation but that via this formation they serve to increase awareness and perception of sensation at higher level.

scholarly journals Development of Thalamocortical Response Transformations in the Rat Whisker-Barrel System

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 356-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Shoykhet ◽  
Daniel J. Simons
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Thalamic Neurons ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Temporal Domain

Extracellular single-unit recordings were used to characterize responses of thalamic barreloid and cortical barrel neurons to controlled whisker deflections in 2, 3-, and 4-wk-old and adult rats in vivo under fentanyl analgesia. Results indicate that response properties of thalamic and cortical neurons diverge during development. Responses to deflection onsets and offsets among thalamic neurons mature in parallel, whereas among cortical neurons responses to deflection offsets become disproportionately smaller with age. Thalamic neuron receptive fields become more multiwhisker, whereas those of cortical neurons become more single-whisker. Thalamic neurons develop a higher degree of angular selectivity, whereas that of cortical neurons remains constant. In the temporal domain, response latencies decrease both in thalamic and cortical neurons, but the maturation time-course differs between the two populations. Response latencies of thalamic cells decrease primarily between 2 and 3 wk of life, whereas response latencies of cortical neurons decrease in two distinct steps—the first between 2 and 3 wk of life and the second between the fourth postnatal week and adulthood. Although the first step likely reflects similar subcortical changes, the second phase likely corresponds to developmental myelination of thalamocortical fibers. Divergent development of thalamic and cortical response properties indicates that thalamocortical circuits in the whisker-to-barrel pathway undergo protracted maturation after 2 wk of life and provides a potential substrate for experience-dependent plasticity during this time.

Visual response properties of neurons in four extrastriate visual areas of the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus): a quantitative comparison of medial, dorsomedial, dorsolateral, and middle temporal areas

1981 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Baker ◽  
S. E. Petersen ◽  
W. T. Newsome ◽  
J. M. Allman
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Optimal Direction ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Direction Of Movement ◽  
Owl Monkeys ◽  
The Difference

1. The response properties of 354 single neurons in the medial (M), dorsomedial (DM), dorsolateral (DL), and middle temporal (MT) visual areas were studied quantitatively with bar, spot, and random-dot stimuli in chronically implanted owl monkeys with fixed gaze. 2. A directionality index was computed to compare the responses to stimuli in the optimal direction with the responses to the opposing direction of movement. The greater the difference between opposing directions, the higher the index. MT cells had much higher direction indices to moving bars than cells in DL, DM, and M. 3. A tuning index was computed for each cell to compare the responses to bars moving in the optimal direction, or flashed in the optimal orientation, with the responses in other directions or orientations within +/- 90 degrees. Cells in all four areas were more sharply tuned to the orientation of stationary flashed bars than to moving bars, although a few cells (9/92( were unresponsive in the absence of movement. DM cells tended to be more sharply tuned to moving bars than cells in the other areas. 4. Directionality in DM, DL, and MT was relatively unaffected by the use of single-spot stimuli instead of bars; tuning in all four areas was broader to spots than bars. 5. Moving arrays of randomly spaced spots were more strongly excitatory than bar stimuli for many neurons in MT (16/31 cells). These random-dot stimuli were also effective in M, but evoked no response or weak responses from most cells in DM and DL. 6. The best velocities of movement were usually in the range of 10-100 degrees/s, although a few cells (22/227), primarily in MT (14/69 cells), preferred higher velocities. 7. Receptive fields of neurons in all four areas were much larger than striate receptive fields. Eccentricity was positively correlated with receptive-field size (r = 0.62), but was not correlated with directionality index, tuning index, or best velocity. 8. The results support the hypothesis that there are specializations of function among the cortical visual areas.

Spatial determinants of multisensory integration in cat superior colliculus neurons

1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 1843-1857 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Meredith ◽  
B. E. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Extracellular Recording ◽  
Average Proportion ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
High Degree

1. Although a representation of multisensory space is contained in the superior colliculus, little is known about the spatial requirements of multisensory stimuli that influence the activity of neurons here. Critical to this problem is an assessment of the registry of the different receptive fields within individual multisensory neurons. The present study was initiated to determine how closely the receptive fields of individual multisensory neurons are aligned, the physiological role of that alignment, and the possible functional consequences of inducing receptive-field misalignment. 2. Individual multisensory neurons in the superior colliculus of anesthetized, paralyzed cats were studied with the use of standard extracellular recording techniques. The receptive fields of multisensory neurons were large, as reported previously, but exhibited a surprisingly high degree of spatial coincidence. The average proportion of receptive-field overlap was 86% for the population of visual-auditory neurons sampled. 3. Because of this high degree of intersensory receptive-field correspondence, combined-modality stimuli that were coincident in space tended to fall within the excitatory regions of the receptive fields involved. The result was a significantly enhanced neuronal response in 88% of the multisensory neurons studied. If stimuli were spatially disparate, so that one fell outside its receptive field, either a decreased response occurred (56%), or no intersensory effect was apparent (44%). 4. The normal alignment of the different receptive fields of a multisensory neuron could be disrupted by passively displacing the eyes, pinnae, or limbs/body. In no case was a shift in location or size observed in a neuron's other receptive field(s) to compensate for this displacement. The physiological result of receptive-field misalignment was predictable and based on the location of the stimuli relative to the new positions of their respective receptive fields. Now, for example, one component of a spatially coincident pair of stimuli might fall outside its receptive field and inhibit the other's effects. 5. These data underscore the dependence of multisensory integrative responses on the relationship of the different stimuli to their corresponding receptive fields rather than to the spatial relationship of the stimuli to one another. Apparently, the alignment of different receptive fields for individual multisensory neurons ensures that responses to combinations of stimuli derived from the same event are integrated to increase the salience of that event. Therefore the maintenance of receptive-field alignment is critical for the appropriate integration of converging sensory signals and, ultimately, elicitation of adaptive behaviors.

Interactive effects among several stimulus parameters on the responses of striate cortical complex cells

1991 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Gawne ◽  
B. J. Richmond ◽  
L. M. Optican
Keyword(s):  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Response Strength ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Temporal Modulation ◽  
Complex Cells ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Interaction Terms ◽  
Stimulus Parameters

1. Although neurons within the visual system are often described in terms of their responses to particular patterns such as bars and edges, they are actually sensitive to many different stimulus features, such as the luminances making up the patterns and the duration of presentation. Many different combinations of stimulus parameters can result in the same neuronal response, raising the problem of how the nervous system can extract information about visual stimuli from such inherently ambiguous responses. It has been shown that complex cells transmit significant amounts of information in the temporal modulation of their responses, raising the possibility that different stimulus parameters are encoded in different aspects of the response. To find out how much information is actually available about individual stimulus parameters, we examined the interactions among three stimulus parameters in the temporally modulated responses of striate cortical complex cells. 2. Sixteen black and white patterns were presented to two awake monkeys at each of four luminance-combinations and five durations, giving a total of 320 unique stimuli. Complex cells were recorded in layers 2 and 3 of striate cortex, with the stimuli centered on the receptive fields as determined by mapping with black and white bars. 3. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to these data with the three stimulus parameters of pattern, the luminance-combinations, and duration as the independent variables. The ANOVA was repeated with the magnitude and three different aspects of the temporal modulation of the response as the dependent variables. For the 19 neurons studied, many of the interactions between the different stimulus parameters were statistically significant. For some response measures the interactions accounted for more than one-half of the total response variance. 4. We also analyzed the stimulus-response relationships with the use of information theoretical techniques. We defined input codes on the basis of each stimulus parameter alone, as well as their combinations, and output codes on the basis of response strength, and on three measures of temporal modulation, also taken individually and together. Transmitted information was greatest when the response of a neuron was interpreted as a temporally modulated message about combinations of all three stimulus parameters. The interaction terms of the ANOVA suggest that the response of a complex cell can only be interpreted as a message about combinations of all three stimulus parameters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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