Spatial receptive-field properties of direction-selective neurons in cat striate cortex

1986 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 1136-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Baker ◽  
M. S. Cynader
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Weighting Function ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Spatial Period ◽  
Sinusoidal Grating ◽  
Subunit Structure ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Cat Striate Cortex

Responses of direction-selective neurons in cat striate cortex (area 17) were studied with flashed-bar stimuli. Spatial parameters of interactions within the receptive field giving rise to direction selectivity and of receptive-field subunits were quantitatively determined for the same cells and correlated. A bar stimulus flashed sequentially at two nearby locations in the receptive field produced direction-selective behavior comparable with that elicited by continuously moving stimuli. Each cell exhibited a characteristic optimal spatial displacement, Dopt, for which responses in the presumed preferred and null directions were maximally distinct. In all cases, Dopt was much smaller than the receptive-field size. The spatial structure of receptive fields in simple cells was studied using single narrow-bar stimuli flashed at different locations in the receptive field. The resulting line-weighting function exhibited alternating regions of ON and OFF responses having a characteristic spatial period or wavelength, lambda. Spatial subunit structure in complex cells was determined by flashing two bars simultaneously in the receptive field. The response as a function of bar separation was again a wavelike function having a spatial wavelength, lambda. Values of the optimal displacement for direction selectivity, Dopt, showed a clear relationship with the spatial wavelength, lambda, for a given unit. Dopt was also correlated to a somewhat lesser degree with receptive-field size. Generally, the ratio of Dopt to lambda was approximately 1/10 to 1/4, in agreement with theoretical predictions by Marr and Poggio. Taken together with the findings of Movshon et al., these results indicate a systematic relationship between Dopt and the spatial frequency of a sinusoidal grating, which is optimal for that cell. Such a relationship is consistent with the results of human psychophysical experiments on apparent motion.

Receptive-field characteristics of neurons in cat striate cortex: Changes with visual field eccentricity

1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 512-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Wilson ◽  
S. M. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Ocular Dominance ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Orientation Selectivity ◽  
Simple Cells ◽  
Complex Cells ◽  
Cat Striate Cortex

1. Receptive-field properties of 214 neurons from cat striate cortex were studied with particular emphasis on: a) classification, b) field size, c) orientation selectivity, d) direction selectivity, e) speed selectivity, and f) ocular dominance. We studied receptive fields located throughtout the visual field, including the monocular segment, to determine how receptivefield properties changed with eccentricity in the visual field.2. We classified 98 cells as "simple," 80 as "complex," 21 as "hypercomplex," and 15 in other categories. The proportion of complex cells relative to simple cells increased monotonically with receptive-field eccenticity.3. Direction selectivity and preferred orientation did not measurably change with eccentricity. Through most of the binocular segment, this was also true for ocular dominance; however, at the edge of the binocular segment, there were more fields dominated by the contralateral eye.4. Cells had larger receptive fields, less orientation selectivity, and higher preferred speeds with increasing eccentricity. However, these changes were considerably more pronounced for complex than for simple cells.5. These data suggest that simple and complex cells analyze different aspects of a visual stimulus, and we provide a hypothesis which suggests that simple cells analyze input typically from one (or a few) geniculate neurons, while complex cells receive input from a larger region of geniculate neurons. On average, this region is invariant with eccentricity and, due to a changing magnification factor, complex fields increase in size with eccentricity much more than do simple cells. For complex cells, computations of this geniculate region transformed to cortical space provide a cortical extent equal to the spread of pyramidal cell basal dendrites.

Effects of pattern deprivation on visual cortical cells in the rabbit: a reevaluation

1985 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1535-1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Monocular Deprivation ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
Cortical Cells ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Pattern Deprivation ◽  
Contralateral Eye ◽  
Visual Cortical

The response properties of 217 cells recorded from the monocular segment of primary visual cortex in rabbits reared with lid suture of the contralateral eye (monocular deprivation, MD) were studied. These data were compared with 280 cells recorded from normal rabbits. There was no change in the percentage of orientation-selective cells, nonorientation-selective cells, or unmappable/unresponsive cells in MD animals compared with normals. Among orientation selective cells the orientation-tuning range of cells in MD animals was normal, and the predominance of cells with horizontal preferred orientation was maintained. However, some abnormalities were seen in orientation-selective cells of MD animals. These included an increased frequency of SI cells; a change in the distribution of preferred orientations; a disruption of the clustered organization of the cortex; a decrease in direction selectivity; an increase in the percentage of cells preferring slow stimulus movements and having low spontaneous activity; an increase in receptive-field size in all cell classes except SI. Among nonorientation-selective cells there was an increase in the percentage of movement sensitive cells and an increase in receptive-field size in MD animals. It is concluded that the effects of MD are much less severe in rabbit than in cat. In MD rabbits, many cells develop normally. In cells that do not develop normally, many of the changes observed can be interpreted as reflecting deficits in inhibitory functions.

Quantitative studies of single-cell properties in monkey striate cortex. V. Multivariate statistical analyses and models

1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1362-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. H. Schiller ◽  
B. L. Finlay ◽  
S. F. Volman
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Ocular Dominance ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
Stimulus Movement ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Response Variables

1. Several statistical analyses were performed on 205 S-type and CX-type cells which had been completely analyzed on 12 response variables: orientation tuning, end stopping, spontaneous activity, response variability, direction selectivity, contrast selectivity for flashed or moving stimuli, selectivity for interaction of contrast and direction of stimulus movement, spatial-frequency selectivity, spatial separation of subfields responding to light increment of light decrement, sustained/transient response to flash, receptive-field size, and ocular dominance. 2. Correlation of these variables showed that within any cell group, these response variables vary independently. 3. A multivariate discriminant analysis showed that orientation specificity, receptive-field size, interaction of direction and contrast specificity ocular dominance, and spontaneous activity, taken together can adequately assign cells into the S-type or CX-type subgroups. 4. Various models of visual cortex are examined in view of the findings reported here and in the previous papers of this series, which suggest that a) orientation and direction selectivities are produced by separate neural mechanisms, b) there may be hierarchy among simple (S type) cells, and c) complex (CX-type) cells appear to receive a prominent S-type cell input.

scholarly journals A model for the depth-dependence of receptive field size and contrast sensitivity of cells in layer 4C of macaque striate cortex

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Bauer ◽  
Michael Scholz ◽  
Jonathan B. Levitt ◽  
Klaus Obermayer ◽  
Jennifer S. Lund
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Contrast Sensitivity ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Depth Dependence

Spatial and temporal determinants of directionally selective velocity preference in cat striate cortex neurons

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1557-1574 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Optimal Velocity ◽  
Spatial Properties ◽  
Optimal Separation ◽  
Transient Rise ◽  
Cat Striate Cortex

1. Direction-selective properties of neurons in cat striate cortex (area 17) were studied with flashed and continuously moving bar stimuli. Receptive fields were characterized by measurement of static and dynamic parameters, which were correlated with the velocity preference exhibited by the same cells. 2. Each neuron was found to be direction selective to a limited range of velocities. This behavior was characterized by measuring the optimal velocity (Vopt) to elicit responses in the preferred and null directions that were maximally distinct. 3. A bar stimulus flashed sequentially at two nearby locations in the receptive field also produced direction-selective behavior, which was characterized by an optimal displacement (Dopt) to drive maximally distinct responses in the preferred versus null directions. 4. The static spatial receptive field properties were quantified by measurement of the receptive field size (2 sigma) and the spatial subunit wavelength (lambda). The latter quantity was measured as twice the separation between adjacent ON and OFF regions in simple cells and as twice the optimal separation for lateral inhibition between two simultaneously flashed bars in complex cells. 5. Direction-selective velocity preference for continuously moving stimuli, Vopt, was found to be highly correlated with lambda and with the Dopt for 2-flash motion; Vopt was also correlated to a lesser degree with 2 sigma. These results suggest a fundamental linkage between spatial frequency preference, velocity preference, and spatial tuning to 2-flash motion. 6. The range of measured direction-selective velocity preference values (Vopt) spanned about a 100-fold range, whereas the corresponding values of Dopt or lambda spanned substantially smaller ranges. This discrepancy suggested that the dynamic range of velocity preference among cortical neurons might be determined jointly by the measured spatial properties and by a temporal property that covaries with the measured spatial properties. 7. Temporal properties of striate cortical neurons were assessed from responses to flashed stimuli having a prolonged duration ("step responses"). Neurons typically responded in the following manner: after some latency (L), a transient rise in spike frequency occurred, which then adapted to some sustained level. The adaptation dynamics (extent of sustained vs. transient behavior) were quantified by the first-order time constant (AT) of the adaptation decay, and by the ratio of initial transient rise to final sustained level [adaptation ratio (AR)].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Motion selectivity in macaque visual cortex. II. Spatiotemporal range of directional interactions in MT and V1

1986 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 1328-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mikami ◽  
W. T. Newsome ◽  
R. H. Wurtz
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Apparent Motion ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Mt Neurons ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Spatial Interval ◽  
Temporal Intervals

We measured the spatial and temporal limits of directional interactions for 105 directionally selective middle temporal (MT) neurons and 26 directionally selective striate (V1) neurons. Directional interactions were measured using sequentially flashed stimuli in which the spatial and temporal intervals between stimuli were systematically varied over a broad range. A direction index was employed to determine the strength of directional interactions for each combination of spatial and temporal intervals tested. The maximum spatial interval for which directional interactions occurred in a particular neuron was positively correlated with receptive-field size and with retinal eccentricity in both MT and V1. The maximum spatial interval was, on average, three times as large in MT as in V1. The maximum temporal interval for which we obtained directional interactions was similar in MT and V1 and did not vary with receptive-field size or eccentricity. The maximum spatial interval for directional interactions as measured with flashed stimuli was positively correlated with the maximum speed of smooth motion that yielded directional responses. MT neurons were directionally selective for higher speeds than were V1 neurons. These observations indicate that the large receptive fields found in MT permit directional interactions over longer distances than do the more limited receptive fields of V1 neurons. A functional advantage is thereby conferred on MT neurons because they detect directional differences for higher speeds than do V1 neurons. Recent psychophysical studies have measured the spatial and temporal limits for the perception of apparent motion in sequentially flashed visual displays. A comparison of the psychophysical results with our physiological data indicates that the spatiotemporal limits for perception are similar to the limits for direction selectivity in MT neurons but differ markedly from those for V1 neurons. These observations suggest a correspondence between neuronal responses in MT and the short-range process of apparent motion.

scholarly journals Visual performance in behaving cats after prenatal unilateral enucleation

1993 ◽  
Vol 90 (23) ◽  
pp. 11142-11146 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Bisti ◽  
C Trimarchi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Visual Performance ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Severe Impairment ◽  
Orientation Columns

Prenatal unilateral enucleation in mammals causes an extensive anatomical reorganization of visual pathways. The remaining eye innervates the entire extent of visual subcortical and cortical areas. Electrophysiological recordings have shown that the retino-geniculate connections are retinotopically organized and geniculate neurones have normal receptive field properties. In area 17 all neurons respond to stimulation of the remaining eye and retinotopy, orientation columns, and direction selectivity are maintained. The only detectable change is a reduction in receptive field size. Are these changes reflected in the visual behavior? We studied visual performance in cats unilaterally enucleated 3 weeks before birth (gestational age at enucleation, 39-42 days). We tested behaviorally the development of visual acuity and, in the adult, the extension of the visual field and the contrast sensitivity. We found no difference between prenatal monocularly enucleated cats and controls in their ability to orient to targets in different positions of the visual field or in their visual acuity (at any age). The major difference between enucleated and control animals was in contrast sensitivity:prenatal enucleated cats present a loss in sensitivity for gratings of low spatial frequency (below 0.5 cycle per degree) as well as a slight increase in sensitivity at middle frequencies. We conclude that prenatal unilateral enucleation causes a selective change in the spatial performance of the remaining eye. We suggest that this change is the result of a reduction in the number of neurones with large receptive fields, possibly due to a severe impairment of the Y system.

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