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Loss of stereopsis following lesions of cortical areas 17–18 in the cat

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Summary

The effects of bilateral removal of cortical areas 17–18 were investigated in the cat; these areas represent the central portion of the visual field and the effect of their removal was evaluated with reference to the perception of Julesz random-dot stereograms. Animals were trained in a two-choice discrimination box to choose between two stereotargets made out of random dots. When appropriately viewed, one produced a vertical rectangle and the other an horizontal one, which appeared to float out in space (crossed stereopsis). The results indicated that all normal cats could solve the random-dot task. Following the cortical lesions, stereoscopic perception was abolished. We also tested for the possibility that this inability to solve the random-dot problem was due to a more general acuity loss. Verniertype acuity comparing a continuous to a disjointed line showed this to be within the animals' discriminative ability. Offset acuity of the lines was better than that of the stereodot patterns. On the other hand, the ability to determine the preoperatively acquired brightness and pattern discriminations was preserved, although some retraining was necessary for the more difficult patterns. It is therefore suggested that the primary visual cortex, at least in the cat, is involved in the perception of global stereopsis independently of its implication in the discrimination of bidimensional patterns.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Groupe de Recherche en Neuropsychologie Expérimentale et Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale “A”, PQ H3C 3J7, Montréal, Canada

    Maurice Ptito, Franco Lepore & Jean-Paul Guillemot

  2. Département de Kinanthropologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

    Jean-Paul Guillemot

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  1. Maurice Ptito
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  2. Franco Lepore
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  3. Jean-Paul Guillemot
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Ptito, M., Lepore, F. & Guillemot, JP. Loss of stereopsis following lesions of cortical areas 17–18 in the cat. Exp Brain Res 89, 521–530 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229877

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229877

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