Two Different Types of Y Cells in the Cat Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 1852-1864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-I Yeh ◽  
Carl R. Stoelzel ◽  
Jose-Manuel Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Spatial Summation ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Spatial Parameters ◽  
Latency Response ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

The Y pathway in the cat visual system is traditionally viewed as a single channel that originates in the retina. However, most Y cells from the contralateral retina diverge to innervate two different layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus, suggesting a possible channel split: YC (Y geniculate cell in layer C) and YA (Y geniculate cell in layer A). We tested the functional significance of this anatomical divergence by comparing the response properties of simultaneously recorded YC and YA geniculate cells with overlapping receptive fields. Our results demonstrate that YC and YA cells significantly differ in a large number of temporal and spatial parameters including response latency, response transiency, receptive-field size, and linearity of spatial summation. Furthermore, for some of these parameters, the differences between YC and YA cells are as pronounced as the differences between Y and X cells in layer A. These results along with results from previous studies strongly suggest that Y retinal afferents diverge into two separate channels at the level of the thalamus.

Response properties in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the adult cat after interruption of prenatal binocular interactions

1989 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1039-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. White ◽  
L. M. Chalupa ◽  
L. Maffei ◽  
M. A. Kirby ◽  
B. Lia
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Spatial Summation ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Binocular Interactions ◽  
Adult Cats ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

1. Single-cell recordings were made in the magnocellular layer of the dorsal lateral genicule nucleus (dLGN) of five adult cats in which prenatal binocular interactions were interrupted by monocular enucleation at known gestational ages. Three cats (early enucleates) had one eye removed on either embryonic day 44.48, or 49, before retinogeniculate inputs are segregated into uniocular layers. Two other (late enucleates) underwent this procedure on embryonic days 55 and 58, when segregation is well advanced. Responses were compared with those obtained from recordings in the A and A1 layers of the dLGN of seven normal adult cats. 2. Cells were classified as ON or OFF by the use of spots of light and as X or Y based on a test of linearity of spatial summation with the use of counterphased sinusoidal gratings. Receptive-field size and spatial resolution were also obtained. 3. The dLGN of prenatally enucleated cats contains a dorsal magnocellular layer and a ventral parvocellular layer. In early enucleates, only an occasional hint of a cell-sparse interlaminar zone was apparent, located between the magnocellular and parvocellular layers. In late enucleates, a prominent cell-sparse band was observed contralateral to the remaining eye, in a region that would most likely correspond to layer A1 in the normal dLGN. No such cell-sparse band was seen ipsilateral to the remaining eye in late enucleates. 4. Eighty-six X cells and 22 Y cells were studied in the enucleates. Both cell types were found at all depths of the magnocellular layer. All but a few neurons had concentric ON-center or OFF-center receptive fields that were normal in size. The topography of receptive fields also appeared normal. In addition, spatial resolution of X and Y cells was similar in experimental and control animals. 5. In early enucleates there was a higher percentage of X cells and a lower percentage of Y cells than normal. The change in X-to-Y ratio was shown to be because of both a gain in cells with X properties and a loss of cells with Y properties. The distribution of dLGN somal sizes in the early enucleates was comparable with controls, so the change in X-to-Y ratio most likely did not result from an electrode sampling bias. It was suggested that the X-to-Y ratio difference could stem from the abnormalities in retinogeniculate terminal arbors that have been shown to follow early eye removal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Timing differences between the light responses of X cells recorded simultaneously in cat lateral geniculate nucleus

1989 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Bowling
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Separate Analysis ◽  
Light Responses ◽  
Single Spot ◽  
Temporal Differences ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Different Depths ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

AbstractUsing two microelectrodes, recordings were made from pairs of like-signed cells at different depths in single layers (A or Al) of the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The cells were chosen to have near or overlapping receptive fields so that they could be stimulated simultaneously with a single spot or bar of light. Under these controlled conditions, paired X cells (n = 32 pairs) showed differences in latency from less than 10 to about 80 ms, but no latency differences were observed between paired Y cells (n = 3 pairs). Within XY pairs (n = 11) the Y cells responded faster than the X cells. A separate analysis of previously reported, singly recorded X cells (n= 131) also showed wide differences in X cell latencies.The results confirm that temporal differences in signalling occur within the X pathway in the cat LGN (Mastronarde, 1981, 1987a; Humphrey & Weller, 1988a) and they show explicitly that the differences occur simultaneously, in single layers and at single retinotopic loci. No consistent relationship was found between timing and depth, but the possibility of weak, depth-dependent trends is considered in the Discussion.

Effects of strabismus on responsivity, spatial resolution, and contrast sensitivity of cat lateral geniculate neurons

1984 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Jones ◽  
R. E. Kalil ◽  
P. D. Spear
Keyword(s):  
Contrast Sensitivity ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Orienting Response ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Area Centralis ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

Rearing cats with esotropia is known to cause a number of deficits in visual behavior tested through the deviated eye. These include a loss of orienting response to stimuli presented in the nasal visual field of the deviated eye, a reduction in visual acuity, and a general reduction in contrast sensitivity at all spatial frequencies. To assess the involvement of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in these deficits, we measured the following: 1) the visual responsiveness of lamina A1 cells with peripheral (more than 10 degrees from area centralis) receptive fields in three esotropic and three normal cats and 2) the spatial resolution and contrast sensitivity of lamina A X-cells with central (within 5 degrees of the area centralis) receptive fields in six esotropic and six normal cats. For comparison, we also measured LGN X-cell spatial resolutions in four exotropic cats and in two cats raised with an esotropia in one eye and the lids of the other eye sutured shut (MD-estropes). Recordings from the lateral portion of lamina A1 in esotropic cats yielded similar numbers of visually responsive cells with far nasal receptive fields as were seen in normal animals. Peak and mean response rates to a flashing spot also were normal. In addition, no differences were found between esotropes and normals in the percentages of X- and Y-cells encountered. These results suggest that the loss of orienting response to stimuli presented in the nasal field (12, 20) is not due to a loss of neural responses in the LGN of esotropic cats. In addition, they suggest that decreases in cell size in lamina A1 of esotropic cats (13, 36; R. E. Kalil, unpublished observations) are not accompanied by marked functional abnormalities of the cells and that cortical abnormalities ipsilateral to the deviated eye (22) are likely to have their origin within striate cortex itself. Recordings from lamina A cells with receptive fields near area centralis revealed that the average X-cell spatial resolution in esotropes (2.1 cycles/deg) was significantly lower than that in normal cats (3.1 cycles/deg). This reduction was seen in all esotropic cats tested and was due both to an increase in the proportion of X-cells with very low spatial resolution and to a loss of X-cells responding to high spatial frequencies (greater than 3.25 cycles/deg). The average spatial resolution of X-cells driven by the deviated eye in MD-esotropes fell midway between those of esotropes and normals. In exotropes, mean X-cell spatial resolution was normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Effects of Saccades on the Activity of Neurons in the Cat Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 922-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daeyeol Lee ◽  
Joseph G. Malpeli
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Dark Condition ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Visual Inputs ◽  
Saccade Velocity ◽  
Time Courses ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

Lee, Daeyeol and Joseph G. Malpeli. Effects of saccades on the activity of neurons in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 922–936, 1998. Effects of saccades on individual neurons in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) were examined under two conditions: during spontaneous saccades in the dark and during stimulation by large, uniform flashes delivered at various times during and after rewarded saccades made to small visual targets. In the dark condition, a suppression of activity began 200–300 ms before saccade start, peaked ∼100 ms before saccade start, and smoothly reversed to a facilitation of activity by saccade end. The facilitation peaked 70–130 ms after saccade end and decayed during the next several hundred milliseconds. The latency of the facilitation was related inversely to saccade velocity, reaching a minimum for saccades with peak velocity >70–80°/s. Effects of saccades on visually evoked activity were remarkably similar: a facilitation began at saccade end and peaked 50–100 ms later. When matched for saccade velocity, the time courses and magnitudes of postsaccadic facilitation for activity in the dark and during visual stimulation were identical. The presaccadic suppression observed in the dark condition was similar for X and Y cells, whereas the postsaccadic facilitation was substantially stronger for X cells, both in the dark and for visually evoked responses. This saccade-related regulation of geniculate transmission appears to be independent of the conditions under which the saccade is evoked or the state of retinal input to the LGN. The change in activity from presaccadic suppression to postsaccadic facilitation amounted to an increase in gain of geniculate transmission of ∼30%. This may promote rapid central registration of visual inputs by increasing the temporal contrast between activity evoked by an image near the end of a fixation and that evoked by the image immediately after a saccade.

Mathematical models for the spatial receptive-field organization of nonlagged X-cells in dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of cat

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.T. EINEVOLL ◽  
P. HEGGELUND
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Discrete Model ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

Spatial receptive fields of relay cells in dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) have commonly been modeled as a difference of two Gaussian functions. We present alternative models for dLGN cells which take known physiological couplings between retina and dLGN and within dLGN into account. The models include excitatory input from a single retinal ganglion cell and feedforward inhibition via intrageniculate interneurons. Mathematical formulas describing the receptive field and response to circular spot stimuli are found both for models with a finite and an infinite number of ganglion-cell inputs to dLGN neurons. The advantage of these models compared to the common difference-of-Gaussians model is that they, in addition to providing mathematical descriptions of the receptive fields of dLGN neurons, also make explicit contributions from the geniculate circuit. Moreover, the model parameters have direct physiological relevance and can be manipulated and measured experimentally. The discrete model is applied to recently published data (Ruksenas et al., 2000) on response versus spot-diameter curves for dLGN cells and for the retinal input to the cell (S-potentials). The models are found to account well for the results for the X-cells in these experiments. Moreover, predictions from the discrete model regarding receptive-field sizes of interneurons, the amount of center-surround antagonism for interneurons compared to relay cells, and distance between neighboring retinal ganglion cells providing input to interneurons, are all compatible with data available in the literature.

Development of neuronal response properties in the cat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus during monocular deprivation

1983 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Mangel ◽  
J. R. Wilson ◽  
S. M. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Optic Chiasm ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
X And Y Cells ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

We measured response properties of X- and Y-cells from laminae A and A1 of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of monocularly lid-sutured cats at 8, 12, 16, 24, and 52-60 wk of age. Visual stimuli consisted of small spots of light and vertically oriented sine-wave gratings counterphased at a rate of 2 cycles/s. In cats as young as 8 wk of age, nondeprived and deprived neurons could be clearly identified as X-cells or Y-cells with criteria previously established for adult animals. Nonlinear responses of Y-cells from 8- and 12-wk-old cats were often temporally labile; that is, the amplitude of the nonlinear response of nondeprived and deprived cells increased or decreased suddenly. A similar lability was not noted for the linear response component. This phenomenon rarely occurred in older cats. At 8 wk of age, Y-cell proportions (number of Y-cells/total number of cells) in nondeprived and deprived A-laminae were approximately equal. By 12 wk of age and thereafter, the proportion of Y-cells in deprived laminae was significantly lower than that in nondeprived laminae. At no age was there a systematic difference in response properties (spatial resolution, latency to optic chiasm stimulation, etc.) for Y-cells between deprived and nondeprived laminae. Spatial resolution, defined as the highest spatial frequency to which a cell would respond at a contrast of 0.6, was similar for nondeprived and deprived X-cells until 24 wk of age. In these and older cats, the mean spatial resolution of deprived X-cells was lower than that of nondeprived X-cells. This difference was noted first for lamina A1 at 24 wk of age and later for lamina A at 52-60 wk of age. The average latency of X-cells to optic chiasm stimulation was slightly greater in deprived laminae than in nondeprived laminae. No such difference was seen for Y-cells. Cells with poor and inconsistent responses were encountered infrequently but were observed far more often in deprived laminae than in nondeprived laminae. Lid suture appears to affect the development of geniculate X- and Y-cells in very different ways. Not only is the final pattern of abnormalities quite different between these cell groups, but the developmental dynamics of these abnormalities also differ.

Lagged Y cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Mastronarde ◽  
Allen L. Humphrey ◽  
Alan B. Saul
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Spatial Summation ◽  
Excitatory Input ◽  
Antidromic Activation ◽  
Inhibitory Processes ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Response Profile ◽  
Initial Dip ◽  
Y Cells

AbstractWe report on the existence of lagged Y (YL) cells in the A laminae of the cat lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and on criteria for identifying them using visual and electrical stimulation. Like the lagged X (XL) cells described previously (Mastronarde, 1987a; Humphrey & Weller, 1988a), YL cells responded to a spot stimulus with an initial dip in firing and a delayed latency to discharge after spot onset, and an anomalously prolonged firing after spot offset. However, the cells received excitatory input from retinal Y rather than X afferents, and showed nonlinear spatial summation and other Y-like receptive-field properties. Three YL cells tested for antidromic activation from visual cortex were found to be relay cells, with long conduction latencies similar to those of XL cells.Simultaneous recordings of a YL cell and its retinal Y afferents show striking parallels between lagged X and Y cells in retinogeniculate functional connectivity, and suggest that the YL-cell response profile reflects inhibitory processes occurring within the LGN. The YL cells comprised -5% of Y cells and -1% of all cells in the A laminae. Although infrequently encountered in the LGN, they may be roughly as numerous as Y cells in the retina, and hence could fulfill an important role in vision.

Receptive Field Properties and Laminar Organization of Lateral Geniculate Nucleus in the Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 3398-3418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Van Hooser ◽  
J. Alexander F. Heimel ◽  
Sacha B. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Spatial Summation ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Gray Squirrel ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Laminar Organization ◽  
Contrast Gain ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Heterogeneous Class

Physiological studies of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) have revealed three classes of relay neurons, called X, Y, and W cells in carnivores and parvocellular (P), magnocellular (M), and koniocellular (K) in primates. The homological relationships among these cell classes and how receptive field (RF) properties of these cells compare with LGN cells in other mammals are poorly understood. To address these questions, we have characterized RF properties and laminar organization in LGN of a highly visual diurnal rodent, the gray squirrel, under isoflurane anesthesia. We identified three classes of LGN cells. One class found in layers 1 and 2 showed sustained, reliable firing, center-surround organization, and was almost exclusively linear in spatial summation. Another class, found in layer 3, showed short response latencies, transient and reliable firing, center-surround organization, and could show either linear (76%) or nonlinear (24%) spatial summation. A third, heterogeneous class found throughout the LGN but primarily in layer 3 showed highly variable responses, a variety of response latencies and could show either center-surround or noncenter-surround receptive field organization and either linear (77%) or nonlinear (23%) spatial summation. RF sizes of all cell classes showed little dependency on eccentricity, and all of these classes showed low contrast gains. When compared with LGN cells in other mammals, our data are consistent with the idea that all mammals contain three basic classes of LGN neurons, one showing reliable, sustained responses, and center-surround organization (X or P); another showing transient but reliable responses, short latencies, and center-surround organization (Y or M); and a third, highly variable and heterogeneous class of cells (W or K). Other properties such as dependency of receptive field size on eccentricity, linearity of spatial summation, and contrast gain appear to vary from species to species.

Action of brain stem reticular afferents on lagged and nonlagged cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus

1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 673-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Humphrey ◽  
A. B. Saul
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stem ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Reticular Formation ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Cell Discharge ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Lagged Cells ◽  
Response Timing ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

1. The A-laminae of the cat lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) contain two distinct groups of relay neurons: lagged and nonlagged cells. The groups differ in the pattern, timing, and amplitude of response to flashing spots. At spot onset, nonlagged cells discharge at short latency with an excitatory transient; in lagged cells this transient is supplanted by an inhibitory dip and a delayed latency to discharge. At spot offset, lagged cell discharge decays more slowly than in nonlagged cells. Here we have investigated the facilitatory influence of the brain stem reticular formation on the response properties of lagged X-cells (XL) and nonlagged X- and Y-cells (XN and YN). We were particularly interested in whether the inhibitory dip and sluggish response of lagged cells could be reversed during brain stem activation and the cells induced to respond like nonlagged cells. The peribrachial region (PB) of the pontine reticular formation was stimulated electrically with the use of 1,100-ms-long pulse trains that were paired with flashing spot stimuli. 2. Stimulation of PB led to an increase in the amplitude of visually evoked discharge in lagged and nonlagged cells. Compared with their response to spot stimulation alone, the average PB-evoked increase in mean discharge rate was greater than 50% in both groups. The mean discharge rate during PB plus spot stimulation was somewhat higher for XN-cells than for YN- and XL-cells, reflecting the relatively higher discharge rate among XN-cells during spot stimulation alone. 3. Two measures of response timing characterize lagged and nonlagged cells: latency to half-maximal discharge at spot onset (half rise) and latency to half-minimal discharge at spot offset (half fall). Among XN- and YN-cells, PB stimulation had no significant effect on these two latencies; among XL-cells, both latencies were reduced by 43 and 35%, respectively, on average. 4. During spot stimulation alone, all lagged cells were distinguishable from all nonlagged cells in having half-rise and half-fall latencies greater than 60 ms. Despite the reduction among XL-cells in these 2 latencies during PB stimulation, all but 2 of the 40 XL-cells maintained laggedlike latencies. The majority (95%) of XL-cells remained unambiguously lagged on these measures during brain stem stimulation. 5. During spot stimulation alone, 30 of 40 XL-cells tested displayed a prominent and often long-lasting inhibitory dip in discharge starting approximately 45 ms after spot onset. During PB stimulation only three cells lost the dip.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The effect of contrast on the visual response of lagged and nonlagged cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hartveit ◽  
P. Heggelund
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Response ◽  
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Contrast Gain ◽  
Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Response Range ◽  
Lagged Cells ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

AbstractThe response vs. contrast characteristics of different cell classes in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) were compared. The luminance of a stationary flashing light spot was varied stepwise while the background luminance was constant. Lagged X cells had lower slope of the response vs. contrast curve (contrast gain), and they reached the midpoint of the response range over which the cells' response varied (dynamic response range) at higher contrasts than nonlagged X cells. These results indicated that nonlagged cells are well suited for detection of small contrasts, whereas lagged cells may discriminate between contrasts over a larger range. The contrast gain and the contrast corresponding to the midpoint of the dynamic response range were similar for X and Y cells. The latency to onset and to half-rise of the visual response decreased with increasing contrast, most pronounced for lagged cells. Even at the highest contrasts, the latency of lagged cells remained longer than for nonlagged cells. For many lagged cells, the latency to half-fall decreased with increasing contrast. It is shown that the differences in the response vs. contrast characteristics between lagged and nonlagged X cells in the cat are similar to the differences between the parvocellular and magnocellular neurones in the monkey.

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