scholarly journals Effect of Interocular Delay on Disparity-Selective V1 Neurons: Relationship to Stereoacuity and the Pulfrich Effect

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 1541-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny C. A. Read ◽  
Bruce G. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Stereo Matching ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Gaussian Function ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Integration Time ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Pulfrich Effect ◽  
Behaving Monkeys

The temporal properties of disparity-sensitive neurons place important temporal constraints on stereo matching. We examined these constraints by measuring the responses of disparity-selective neurons in striate cortex of awake behaving monkeys to random-dot stereograms that contained interocular delays. Disparity selectivity was gradually abolished by increasing interocular delay (when the delay exceeds the integration time, the inputs from the 2 eyes become uncorrelated). The amplitude of the disparity-selective response was a Gaussian function of interocular delay, with a mean of 16 ms (±5 ms, SD). Psychophysical measures of stereoacuity, in both monkey and human observers, showed a closely similar dependency on time, suggesting that temporal integration in V1 neurons is what determines psychophysical matching constraints over time. There was a slight but consistent asymmetry in the neuronal responses, as if the optimum stimulus is one in which the right stimulus leads by about 4 ms. Because all recordings were made in the left hemisphere, this probably reflects nasotemporal differences in conduction times; psychophysical data are compatible with this interpretation. In only a few neurons (5/72), interocular delay caused a change in the preferred disparity. Such tilted disparity/delay profiles have been invoked previously to explain depth perception in the stroboscopic version of the Pulfrich effect (and other variants). However, the great majority of the neurons did not show tilted disparity/delay profiles. This suggests that either the activity of these neurons is ignored when viewing Pulfrich stimuli, or that current theories relating neuronal properties to perception in the Pulfrich effect need to be reevaluated.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Spatial Limits on Direction Selectivity in Visual Areas MT and V1

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 1235-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark M. Churchland ◽  
Nicholas J. Priebe ◽  
Stephen G. Lisberger
Keyword(s):  
Apparent Motion ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Temporal Separation ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
The Difference

We recorded responses to apparent motion from directionally selective neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) of anesthetized monkeys and middle temporal area (MT) of awake monkeys. Apparent motion consisted of multiple stationary stimulus flashes presented in sequence, characterized by their temporal separation (Δ t) and spatial separation (Δ x). Stimuli were 8° square patterns of 100% correlated random dots that moved at apparent speeds of 16 or 32°/s. For both V1 and MT, the difference between the response to the preferred and null directions declined with increasing flash separation. For each neuron, we estimated the maximum flash separation for which directionally selective responses were observed. For the range of speeds we used, Δ x provided a better description of the limitation on directional responses than did Δ t. When comparing MT and V1 neurons of similar preferred speed, there was no difference in the maximum Δ x between our samples from the two areas. In both V1 and MT, the great majority of neurons had maximal values of Δ x in the 0.25–1° range. Mean values were almost identical between the two areas. For most neurons, larger flash separations led to both weaker responses to the preferred direction and increased responses to the opposite direction. The former mechanism was slightly more dominant in MT and the latter slightly more dominant in V1. We conclude that V1 and MT neurons lose direction selectivity for similar values of Δ x, supporting the hypothesis that basic direction selectivity in MT is inherited from V1, at least over the range of stimulus speeds represented by both areas.

scholarly journals Disparity processing in primary visual cortex

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1697) ◽  
pp. 20150255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sid Henriksen ◽  
Seiji Tanabe ◽  
Bruce Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Energy Model ◽  
Correspondence Problem ◽  
Stereo Correspondence ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
The Right

The first step in binocular stereopsis is to match features on the left retina with the correct features on the right retina, discarding ‘false’ matches. The physiological processing of these signals starts in the primary visual cortex, where the binocular energy model has been a powerful framework for understanding the underlying computation. For this reason, it is often used when thinking about how binocular matching might be performed beyond striate cortex. But this step depends critically on the accuracy of the model, and real V1 neurons show several properties that suggest they may be less sensitive to false matches than the energy model predicts. Several recent studies provide empirical support for an extended version of the energy model, in which the same principles are used, but the responses of single neurons are described as the sum of several subunits, each of which follows the principles of the energy model. These studies have significantly improved our understanding of the role played by striate cortex in the stereo correspondence problem. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Vision in our three-dimensional world’.

Temporal Integration and the Masking Effect of Spatiotemporal Noise

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 216-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
H T Kukkonen ◽  
J Rovamo
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Density ◽  
Exposure Duration ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Critical Duration ◽  
Masking Effect ◽  
Integration Time ◽  
Detection Thresholds ◽  
Spatial Noise ◽  
Spatiotemporal Noise

In computer-generated spatiotemporal noise every stimulus frame contains a new static noise sample. The spectral density of white spatiotemporal noise is calculated by multiplying the squared rms contrast of noise by the product of the noise check area and the exposure duration of each noise check. When the exposure duration of each noise check is gradually increased, the spectral density of spatiotemporal noise increases, reaching its maximum when noise becomes static. In static spatial noise both stimulus and noise checks have the same duration. The signal-to-noise ratio is known to be constant at detection threshold. Detection thresholds should thus increase in proportion to the spectral density of spatiotemporal noise, which increases with the duration of the noise checks. We measured detection thresholds for stationary cosine gratings embedded in spatiotemporal noise. The exposure duration of the noise checks was increased from one frame duration to the total exposure duration of the stimulus grating. Noise was thus gradually transformed from spatiotemporal to static spatial noise. The contrast energy threshold increased in proportion to the spectral density of spatiotemporal noise up to a noise check duration found to be equal to the integration time for the stimulus grating without noise. After this, energy thresholds remained constant in spite of the increase in the spectral density of spatiotemporal noise. This suggests that the masking effect of spatiotemporal noise increases with the duration of noise checks up to the critical duration marking the saturation of the temporal integration of the signal.

Convergence of retinal W-cell and corticotectal input to cells of the cat superior colliculus

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1861-1873 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Berson
Keyword(s):  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Optic Tract ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Optic Chiasm ◽  
Optic Disk ◽  
Indirect Pathway ◽  
Stimulus Motion ◽  
Cortical Input ◽  
Conduction Velocities ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Conduction velocities of retinotectal W-cell afferents were estimated from differences among latencies of collicular unit responses to supramaximal stimulation of the contralateral optic disk (OD), optic chiasm (OX), and ipsilateral optic tract (OT). W-cell afferents driving collicular neurons had very slowly conducting axons, nearly all below 8 m/s (mean = 5.3 m/s). These match the conduction velocities of W-cell axons terminating in the uppermost superficial gray layer and triggering juxtazonal potentials (JZPs). Such slow conduction velocities are typical of W-cells belonging to the W2 subclass ("phasic W-cells"), but are slower than nearly all W1 cells ("tonic W-cells"). 2. Most W-driven cells were activated at latencies longer than expected for monosynaptic input from these W-cell afferents. However, comparable delays were observed among JZPs, which signal monosynaptic excitation of collicular neurons by W-cell terminals. This suggests that the delayed activation of W-driven cells reflects slowed conduction in the preterminal segments of W-cell afferents rather than polysynaptic transmission of W-cell signals through intermediary neurons in the brain stem or cortex. Thus monosynaptic inputs from retinal W2 cells appear to drive most neurons of the superficial collicular layers. 3. Convergence of retinotectal W-cell and corticotectal pathways was assessed by recording responses of W-driven collicular cells to intracortical stimulation of area 17. The great majority of W-driven collicular cells were activated by cortical stimulation (41/52; 79%), indicating that such convergence is widespread. 4. The population of corticotectal cells influencing W-driven collicular cells may differ from that mediating Hoffmann's Y-indirect pathway. W-driven collicular cells were activated from the striate cortex at longer latencies (mean = 6.3 ms) than cells driven by the Y-indirect pathway (mean = 2.5 ms). In addition, cortically activated W-driven cells were common throughout the superficial gray layer, whereas cells driven by the Y-indirect input were encountered only in the deepest part of the superficial gray and below. 5. W2 cells, apparently the dominant retinotectal cell type, nearly all project contralaterally and are tuned for slow stimulus velocities. Thus the binocularity of W-driven collicular cells and their sensitivity to moderately fast stimulus motion probably reflect the convergent cortical input described here.

Burst Firing and Modulation of Functional Connectivity in Cat Striate Cortex

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 730-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Snider ◽  
J. F. Kabara ◽  
B. R. Roig ◽  
A. B. Bonds
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cross Correlation ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Burst Firing ◽  
Correlation Peak ◽  
Cortical Cells ◽  
Instantaneous Rate ◽  
Cross Correlation Analysis ◽  
Cat Striate Cortex

Snider, R. K., J. F. Kabara, B. R. Roig, and A. B. Bonds. Burst firing and modulation of functional connectivity in cat striate cortex. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 730–744, 1998. We studied the influences of the temporal firing patterns of presynaptic cat visual cortical cells on spike generation by postsynaptic cells. Multiunit recordings were dissected into the activity of individual neurons within the recorded group. Cross-correlation analysis was then used to identify directly coupled neuron pairs. The 22 multiunit groups recorded typically showed activity from two to six neurons, each containing between 1 and 15 neuron pairs. From a total of 241 neuron pairs, 91 (38%) had a shifted cross-correlation peak, which indicated a possible direct connection. Only two multiunit groups contained no shifted peaks. Burst activity, defined by groups of two or more spikes with intervals of ≤8 ms from any single neuron, was analyzed in terms of its effectiveness in eliciting a spike from a second, driven neuron. We defined effectiveness as the percentage of spikes from the driving neuron that are time related to spikes of the driven neuron. The effectiveness of bursts (of any length) in eliciting a time-related response spike averaged 18.53% across all measurements as compared with the effectiveness of single spikes, which averaged 9.53%. Longer bursts were more effective than shorter ones. Effectiveness was reduced with spatially nonoptimal, as opposed to optimal, stimuli. The effectiveness of both bursts and single spikes decreased by the same amount across measurements with nonoptimal orientations, spatial frequencies and contrasts. At similar firing rates and burst lengths, the decrease was more pronounced for nonoptimal orientations than for lower contrasts, suggesting the existence of a mechanism that reduces effectiveness at nonoptimal orientations. These results support the hypothesis that neural information can be emphasized via instantaneous rate coding that is not preserved over long intervals or over trials. This is consistent with the integrate and fire model, where bursts participate in temporal integration.

Color-opponent characteristics revealed in temporal integration time

1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1197-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muneo Mitsuboshi ◽  
Yasuhiro Kawabata ◽  
Thomas S. Aiba
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Integration Time

Visual Cortex Neurons of Monkeys and Cats: Temporal Dynamics of the Spatial Frequency Response Function

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 2607-2627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Frazor ◽  
Duane G. Albrecht ◽  
Wilson S. Geisler ◽  
Alison M. Crane
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Transient Nature ◽  
Integration Strategies ◽  
Single Fixation

We measured the responses of striate cortex neurons as a function of spatial frequency on a fine time scale, over the course of an interval that is comparable to the duration of a single fixation (200 ms). Stationary gratings were flashed on for 200 ms and then off for 300 ms; the responses were analyzed at sequential 1-ms intervals. We found that 1) the preferred spatial frequency shifts through time from low frequencies to high frequencies, 2) the latency of the response increases as a function of spatial frequency, and 3) the poststimulus time histograms (PSTHs) are relatively shape-invariant across spatial frequency. The dynamic shifts in preferred spatial frequency appear to be a simple consequence of the latency shifts and the transient nature of the PSTH. The effects of these dynamic shifts on the coding of spatial frequency information are examined within the context of several different temporal integration strategies, and pattern-detection performance is determined as a function of the interval of integration, following response onset. The findings are considered within the context of related investigations as well as a number of functional issues: motion selectivity in depth, “coarse-to-fine” processing, direction selectivity, latency as a code for stimulus attributes, and behavioral response latency. Finally, we demonstrate that the results are qualitatively consistent with a simple feedforward model, similar to the one originally proposed in 1962 by Hubel and Wiesel, that incorporates measured differences in the response latencies and the receptive field sizes of different lateral geniculate nucleus inputs.

Non-oriented cells of the striate cortex activated during smooth pursuit eye movements and steady fixations in behaving monkeys

1983 ◽  
Vol 260 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Galletti ◽  
Salvatore Squatrito ◽  
Piero Paolo Battaglini ◽  
Maria Grazia Maioli
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Behaving Monkeys

Broadband temporal stimuli decrease the integration time of neurons in cat striate cortex

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.C. Reid ◽  
J.D. Victor ◽  
R.M. Shapley
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Integration Time ◽  
Systematic Change ◽  
Response Dynamics ◽  
Pass Filter ◽  
Low Pass Filter

AbstractWe have studied the responses of striate cortical neurons to stimuli whose contrast is modulated in time by either a single sinusoid or by the sum of eight sinusoids. The sum-of-sinusoids stimulus resembles white noise and has been used to study the linear and nonlinear dynamics of retinal ganglion cells (Victor et al., 1977). In cortical neurons, we have found different linear and second-order responses to single-sinusoid and sum-of-sinusoids inputs. Specifically, while the responsivity near the optimal temporal frequency is lower for the sum-of-sinusoids stimulus, the responsivity at higher temporal frequencies is relatively greater. Along with this change in the response amplitudes, there is a systematic change in the time course of responses. For complex cells, the integration time, the effective delay due to a combination of actual delays and low-pass filter stages, changes from a median of 85 ms with single sinusoids to 57 ms with a sum of sinusoids. For simple cells, the integration times for single sinusoids range from 44–100 ms, but cluster tightly around 40 ms for the sum-of-sinusoids stimulus. The change in time constant would argue that the increased sensitivity to high frequencies cannot be explained by a static threshold, but must be caused by a fundamental alteration in the response dynamics. These effects are not seen in the retina (Shapley & Victor, 1981) and are most likely cortical in origin.

scholarly journals A simple linear readout of MT supports motion direction-discrimination performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 682-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob L. Yates ◽  
Leor N. Katz ◽  
Aaron J. Levi ◽  
Jonathan W. Pillow ◽  
Alexander C. Huk
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Motion Discrimination ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Middle Temporal Area

Motion discrimination is a well-established model system for investigating how sensory signals are used to form perceptual decisions. Classic studies relating single-neuron activity in the middle temporal area (MT) to perceptual decisions have suggested that a simple linear readout could underlie motion discrimination behavior. A theoretically optimal readout, in contrast, would take into account the correlations between neurons and the sensitivity of individual neurons at each time point. However, it remains unknown how sophisticated the readout needs to be to support actual motion-discrimination behavior or to approach optimal performance. In this study, we evaluated the performance of various neurally plausible decoders, trained to discriminate motion direction from small ensembles of simultaneously recorded MT neurons. We found that decoding the stimulus without knowledge of the interneuronal correlations was sufficient to match an optimal (correlation aware) decoder. Additionally, a decoder could match the psychophysical performance of the animals with flat integration of up to half the stimulus and inherited temporal dynamics from the time-varying MT responses. These results demonstrate that simple, linear decoders operating on small ensembles of neurons can match both psychophysical performance and optimal sensitivity without taking correlations into account and that such simple read-out mechanisms can exhibit complex temporal properties inherited from the sensory dynamics themselves. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Motion perception depends on the ability to decode the activity of neurons in the middle temporal area. Theoretically optimal decoding requires knowledge of the sensitivity of neurons and interneuronal correlations. We report that a simple correlation-blind decoder performs as well as the optimal decoder for coarse motion discrimination. Additionally, the decoder could match the psychophysical performance with moderate temporal integration and dynamics inherited from sensory responses.

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