Abstract
Orientation selectivity of 24 neurons in area 17 of the visual cortex at different intensities of test bars of light, flashing against a constant light background in the center of the receptive field, was investigated in acute experiments on immobilized cats. Five neurons were invariant in orientation tuning to stimulus intensity (contrast): Although the magnitude of the response and acuteness of orientation selectivity were modified, preferential orientation was unchanged. More than half of the cells studied (13) were classed as noninvariant, for their preferential orientation was significantly shifted by 22–90° with a change in contrast. Small shifts of the peak of orientation selectivity, not statistically significant, were observed for the other neurons. Invariant neurons, unlike noninvariant, were characterized by preferential horizontal and vertical orientation, a lower frequency of spontaneous and evoked discharges, and the more frequent presence of receptive fields of simple type. The mechanisms of the change of orientation selectivity during contrast variation and also the different use of the two types of cells in orientation detection operations are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
V. D. Glezer (ed.), Visual Recognition and Its Neurophysiological Mechanisms [in Russian], Nauka, Leningrad (1975).
A. Ya. Supin, Neurophysiology of Mammalian Vision [in Russian], Nauka, Moscow (1981).
A. S. Tikhomirov, "Characteristics of coding of the intensity of photic stimuli by visual cortical neurons in light-adapted cats," Neirofiziologiya,15, No. 3, 211 (1983).
I. A. Shevelev, "Neurophysiological principles of visual perception of the shape of objects," in: Human and Animal Physiology. Psychophysiology of Visual Perception [in Russian], Vol. 18, All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technical Information, Moscow (1976), pp. 87–117.
I. A. Shevelev and N. N. Verderevskaya, "Receptive fields of cat visual cortical neurons during a change in the level of wakefulness," in: Sensory Systems [in Russian], Nauka, Leningrad (1982), pp. 41–54.
I. A. Shevelev, N. N. Verderevskaya, and V. G. Marchenko, "Complete reorganization of the detector properties of the visual cortical neurons in cats depending on conditions of adaptation," Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR,217, No. 2, 493 (1974).
I. A. Shevelev and I. V. Maksimova, "Adaptiveness of receptive fields of visual cortical neurons," in: Sensory Systems [in Russian], Nauka, Leningrad (1979), pp. 62–78.
I. A. Shevelev and V. G. Marchenko, "Visual cortical unit responses to photic stimulation of different zones of the receptive field in cats," Neirofiziologiya,11, No. 3, 227 (1979).
I. A. Shevelev, V. G. Marchenko, and I. V. Maksimova, "Receptive fields of visual cortical neurons during changes in parameters of photic stimulation in cats," Neirofiziologiya,12, No. 2, 115 (1980).
I. A. Shevelev, M. A. Volgushev, and G. A. Sharaev, "Characteristics of dynamic reorganization of the receptive fields of visual neurons during changes in the parameters of photic stimulation," Neirofiziologiya,15, No. 4, 339 (1983).
O. D. Creutzfeldt, U. Kuhnt, and L. A. Benevento, "An intracellular analysis of visual cortical neurones to moving stimuli: responses in a cooperative neuronal network," Exp. Brain Res.,21, No. 2, 251 (1974).
D. H. Hubel and T. N. Wiesel, "Receptive fields and functional architecture in two nonstriate visual areas (18 and 19) of cat," J. Neurophysiol.,28, No. 2, 229 (1965).
M. Imbert, "Maturation of visual cortex with and without visual experience," in: Developmental Neurobiology of Vision, Plenum Press, New York (1979), pp. 43–49.
B. B. Lee, K. Albus, P. Heggelund, et al., "The depth distribution of optimal stimulus orientations for neurones of cat area 17," Exp. Brain Res.,27, No. 3/4, 301 (1977).
J. Sclar and R. D. Freeman, "Orientation selectivity in the cat's striate cortex is invariant with stimulus contrast," Exp. Brain Res.,46, No. 3, 457 (1982).
J. Stone and R. B. Freeman, "Neurophysiological mechanisms in the visual discrimination of form," in: Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. 7/3A, Springer, Berlin (1973), pp. 153–207.
T. Tsumoto, W. Eckart, and O. D. Creutzfeldt, "Modification of orientation sensitivity of cat visual cortex neurones by removal of GABA-mediated inhibition," Exp. Brain Res.,34, No. 2, 351 (1979).
D. C. Van Essen and J. Kelly, "Correlation of cell shapes and function in the visual cortex of the cat," Nature,241, 403 (1973).
Additional information
Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 347–354, July–August, 1983.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lazareva, N.A., Novikova, R.V., Tikhomirov, A.S. et al. Orientation selectivity of visual cortical neurons at different stimulus intensities in cats. Neurophysiology 15, 248–255 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059863
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059863