Center-Surround Interactions in the Middle Temporal Visual Area of the Owl Monkey

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 2658-2669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Born
Keyword(s):  
Visual Motion ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Visual Area ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Local Motion ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Owl Monkey ◽  
Motion Contrast

Microelectrode recording and 2-deoxyglucose (2dg) labeling were used to investigate center-surround interactions in the middle temporal visual area (MT) of the owl monkey. These techniques revealed columnar groups of neurons whose receptive fields had opposite types of center-surround interaction with respect to moving visual stimuli. In one type of column, neurons responded well to objects such as a single bar or spot but poorly to large textured stimuli such as random dots. This was often due to the fact that the receptive fields had antagonistic surrounds: surround motion in the same direction as that preferred by the center suppressed responses, thus rendering these neurons unresponsive to wide-field motion. In the second set of complementary, interdigitated columns, neuronal receptive fields had reinforcing surrounds and responded optimally to wide-field motion. This functional organization could not be accounted for by systematic differences in binocular disparity. Within both column types, neurons whose receptive fields exhibited center-surround interactions were found less frequently in the input layers compared with the other layers. Additional tests were done on single units to examine the nature of the center-surround interactions. The direction tuning of the surround was broader than that of the center, and the preferred direction, with respect to that of the center, tended to be either in the same or opposite direction and only rarely in orthogonal directions. Surround motion at various velocities modulated the overall responsiveness to centrally placed moving stimuli, but it did not produce shifts in the peaks of the center's tuning curves for either direction or speed. In layers 3B and 5 of the local motion processing columns, a number of neurons responded only to local motion contrast but did so over a region of the visual field that was much larger than the optimal stimulus size. The central feature of this receptive field type was the generalization of surround antagonism over retinotopic space—a property similar to other “complex” receptive fields described previously. The columnar organization of different types of center-surround interactions may reflect the initial segregation of visual motion information into wide-field and local motion contrast systems that serve complementary functions in visual motion processing. Such segregation appears to occur at later stages of the macaque motion processing stream, in the medial superior temporal area (MST), and has also been described in invertebrate visual systems where it appears to be involved in the important function of distinguishing background motion from object motion.

scholarly journals Comparing the influence of stimulus size and contrast on the perception of moving gratings and random dot patterns—A registered report protocol

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253067
Author(s):  
Benedict Wild ◽  
Stefan Treue
Keyword(s):  
Motion Perception ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Processing Pipeline ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Primate Brain ◽  
Random Dot Patterns

Modern accounts of visual motion processing in the primate brain emphasize a hierarchy of different regions within the dorsal visual pathway, especially primary visual cortex (V1) and the middle temporal area (MT). However, recent studies have called the idea of a processing pipeline with fixed contributions to motion perception from each area into doubt. Instead, the role that each area plays appears to depend on properties of the stimulus as well as perceptual history. We propose to test this hypothesis in human subjects by comparing motion perception of two commonly used stimulus types: drifting sinusoidal gratings (DSGs) and random dot patterns (RDPs). To avoid potential biases in our approach we are pre-registering our study. We will compare the effects of size and contrast levels on the perception of the direction of motion for DSGs and RDPs. In addition, based on intriguing results in a pilot study, we will also explore the effects of a post-stimulus mask. Our approach will offer valuable insights into how motion is processed by the visual system and guide further behavioral and neurophysiological research.

Motion Perception: From Detection to Interpretation

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 501-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin'ya Nishida ◽  
Takahiro Kawabe ◽  
Masataka Sawayama ◽  
Taiki Fukiage
Keyword(s):  
Motion Perception ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Specular Reflection ◽  
Motion Vector ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Local Motion ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Motion Signal ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Level Of Processing

Visual motion processing can be conceptually divided into two levels. In the lower level, local motion signals are detected by spatiotemporal-frequency-selective sensors and then integrated into a motion vector flow. Although the model based on V1-MT physiology provides a good computational framework for this level of processing, it needs to be updated to fully explain psychophysical findings about motion perception, including complex motion signal interactions in the spatiotemporal-frequency and space domains. In the higher level, the velocity map is interpreted. Although there are many motion interpretation processes, we highlight the recent progress in research on the perception of material (e.g., specular reflection, liquid viscosity) and on animacy perception. We then consider possible linking mechanisms of the two levels and propose intrinsic flow decomposition as the key problem. To provide insights into computational mechanisms of motion perception, in addition to psychophysics and neurosciences, we review machine vision studies seeking to solve similar problems.

Relation of cortical areas MT and MST to pursuit eye movements. I. Localization and visual properties of neurons

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 580-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Komatsu ◽  
R. H. Wurtz
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Pursuit Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Visual Properties

1. Among the multiple extrastriate visual areas in monkey cerebral cortex, several areas within the superior temporal sulcus (STS) are selectively related to visual motion processing. In this series of experiments we have attempted to relate this visual motion processing at a neuronal level to a behavior that is dependent on such processing, the generation of smooth-pursuit eye movements. 2. We studied two visual areas within the STS, the middle temporal area (MT) and the medial superior temporal area (MST). For the purposes of this study, MT and MST were defined functionally as those areas within the STS having a high proportion of directionally selective neurons. MST was distinguished from MT by using the established relationship of receptive-field size to eccentricity, with MST having larger receptive fields than MT. 3. A subset of these visually responsive cells within the STS were identified as pursuit cells--those cells that discharge during smooth pursuit of a small target in an otherwise dark room. Pursuit cells were found only in localized regions--in the foveal region of MT (MTf), in a dorsal-medial area of MST on the anterior bank of the STS (MSTd), and in a lateral-anterior area of MST on the floor and the posterior bank of the STS (MST1). 4. Pursuit cells showed two characteristics in common when their visual properties were studied while the monkey was fixating. Almost all cells showed direction selectivity for moving stimuli and included the fovea within their receptive fields. 5. The visual response of pursuit cells in the several areas differed in two ways. Cells in MTf preferred small moving spots of light, whereas cells in MSTd preferred large moving stimuli, such as a pattern of random dots. Cells in MTf had small receptive fields; those in MSTd usually had large receptive fields. Visual responses of pursuit neurons in MST1 were heterogeneous; some resembled those in MTf, whereas others were similar to those in MSTd. This suggests that the pursuit cells in MSTd and MST1 belong to different subregions of MST.

Segregation of global and local motion processing in primate middle temporal visual area

Nature ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 357 (6378) ◽  
pp. 497-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Born ◽  
Roger B. H. Tootell
Keyword(s):  
Visual Area ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Local Motion ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Global And Local

Visual motion processing in the anterior ectosylvian sulcus of the cat

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 895-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Scannell ◽  
F. Sengpiel ◽  
M. J. Tovee ◽  
P. J. Benson ◽  
C. Blakemore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Area ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Anterior Ectosylvian Sulcus ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Pattern Motion ◽  
Middle Temporal Area ◽  
Component Motion

1. Neurons that are selectively sensitive to the direction of motion of elongated contours have been found in several cortical areas in many species. However, in the striate cortex of the cat and monkey, and the extrastriate posteromedial lateral suprasylvian visual area of the cat, such cells are generally component motion selective, signaling only the direction of movement orthogonal to the preferred orientation; a direction that is not necessarily the same as the motion of the entire pattern or texture of which the cell's preferred contour is part. The primate extrastriate middle temporal area is the only cortical region currently known to contain a substantial population of pattern-motion-selective cells that respond to the shared vector of motion of mixtures of contours. 2. From analyzing published data on the connectivity of the cat's cortex, we predicted that the anterior ectosylvian visual area (AEV), situated within the anterior ectosylvian sulcus, might be a higher-order motion processing area and thus likely to contain pattern-motion-selective neurons. This paper presents the results of a study on neuronal responses in AEV. 3. Ninety percent of AEV cells that responded strongly to drifting grating and/or plaid stimuli were directionally selective (directionality index > 0.5). For this group, the mean directionality index was 0.75. Moreover, 55% of these cells were unequivocally classified as pattern motion selective and only one neuron was classified as definitely component motion selective. Thus high-level pattern motion coding occurs in the cat extrastriate cortex and is not limited to the primate middle temporal area. 4. AEV contains a heterogeneous population of directionally selective cells. There was no clear relation between the degree of directional selectivity for plaids or gratings and the degree of selectivity for pattern motion or component motion. Nevertheless, 28% of the highly responsive cells were both more strongly modulated by plaids than gratings and more pattern motion selective than component motion selective. Such cells could correspond to a population of "selection units" signaling the salience of local motion information. 5. AEV lacks global retinotopic order but the preferred direction of motion of neurons (rather than axis of motion, as in the middle temporal area and the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian visual area) is mapped systematically across the cortex. Our data are compatible with AEV being a nonretinotopic, feature-mapped area in which cells representing similar parts of "motion space" are brought together on the cortical sheet.

Cholinergic and GABAergic receptors on fly tangential cells and their role in visual motion detection

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1786-1799 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Brotz ◽  
A. Borst
Keyword(s):  
Visual Motion ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Calliphora Erythrocephala ◽  
Lobula Plate ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Visual Motion Processing ◽  
Gabaa Receptor Antagonist ◽  
Alpha Bungarotoxin

1. To identify some of the neurotransmitters involved in the processing of visual motion information the pharmacology of transmitter receptors on motion-sensitive visual interneurons (VS and HS cells) was investigated in an in vitro preparation of the blowfly (Calliphora erythrocephala) brain. Cholinergic and GABAergic drugs were applied in the bath and iontophoretically while recording intracellularly from HS and VS cells. 2. Bath-applied carbachol (10 and 100 microM) leads to a depolarization in HS and VS cells. One micromolar nicotine also has a depolarizing effect. Both agonists are effective in 0 Ca2+/high Mg(2+)-saline, too, which isolates the cells synaptically. The muscarinic agonists pilocarpine and oxotremorine have no effects on the membrane potential. 3. Iontophoretic application of acetylcholine, carbachol, and nicotine depolarizes VS and HS cells. The iontophoretic carbachol response is antagonized by alpha-bungarotoxin (EC50 = 0.19 microM), mecamylamine (EC50 = 0.32 microM), d-tubocurarine (EC50 = 9.5 microM), and bicuculline but not by decamethonium and scopolamine. 4. Bath application of muscimol strongly hyperpolarizes VS cells in normal fly saline. The gamma-aminobutyric acid-C (GABAC)-receptor agonist cis-4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA) has no effects. The hyperpolarizing response to iontophoretic applied muscimol is present in 0 Ca2+/high Mg2+ saline as well as in Co(2+)-containing saline. The muscimol response is reduced in low chloride saline and thus chloride sensitive. The muscimol response is blocked by picrotoxinin (EC50 = 3.4 microM) but not by the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. 5. Taken together the primary responses of the lobula plate tangential cells appear to be nicotinic cholinergic and GABAergic. 6. The pharmacology of natural synaptic input to VS cells was investigated by extracellular electrical stimulation of the medulla. Such evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) are blocked reversibly in 0 Ca2+/high Mg2+ saline. The nicotinic antagonists mecamylamine (1 microM) and d-tubocurarine (50-100 microM) abolish or diminish the EPSPs, respectively. 7. The pharmacological data are incorporated into a semicellular model of a visual motion detector favoring a role of lobula plate tangential cells in certain steps of visual motion processing. Cholinergic and GABAergic inputs are an ideal cellular implementation of a linear subtraction of the signals arising from local motion-sensitive elements with opposite preferred direction. Such a mechanism enhances direction-selectivity and, together with dendritic integration, increases the sensitivity of the tangential cells for wide-field motion.

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