Receptive field characteristics of superior colliculus neurons and visually guided behavior in dark-reared hamsters

1978 ◽  
Vol 177 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Rhoades ◽  
Leo M. Chalupa
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

Effects of monocular lid closure on development of receptive-field characteristics of neurons in rabbit superior colliculus

1978 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1359-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Fox ◽  
K. L. Chow ◽  
A. S. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Relative Number ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Uniform Motion ◽  
Adult Level ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

1. The receptive-field characteristics of superior colliculus neurons were studied in rabbit pups that had one eyelid sutured prior to eye opening. Units recorded from the superior colliculus (SC) receiving input from the unsutured eye provided normal developmental data, and those from the colliculus receiving input from the sutured eye were used to study the effect of visual deprivation. 2. A total of 1,054 cells recorded from 89 animals ranging in age from 7 to 35 days were obtained, 514 cells in the normal colliculus and 540 cells in the deprived colliculus. During normal development, three nonoriented cell types (concentric, uniform, motion) showed a progressive increase in relative frequency of occurrence, starting at about 7 days and reaching the adult level at about 15 days. Directionally selective cells developed slightly later, reaching an adult level at 3 wk. Oriented directional cells were the slowest to mature, requiring about 4 wk to reach the final level. 3. Eyelid suturing significantly affected the oriented directional cell development; these cells developed at a normal rate for about 3 wk, then rather abruptly began to decrease in number; a stable relative frequency of about one-fourth the normal value was reached at about 4 wk. A corresponding increase in the relative number of indefinite cells to above the normal level also occurred. In contrast, the development of nonoriented cells and directionally selective cells was not affected by the deprivation. 4. The development of rabbit superior colliculus receptive fields was found to be, in general, similar to development of kitten SC receptive fields. It also correlates well with developmental changes seen in rabbit ganglion cell receptive fields and with anatomical changes in developing rabbit SC. Indirect support is given for the hypothesis that changes seen in SC with deprivation are secondary to changes in the visual cortex.

Ontogenesis of receptive field characteristics of superior colliculus neurons in the rabbit

1972 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Spear ◽  
Kao Liang Chow ◽  
Richard H. Masland ◽  
E.H. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

scholarly journals Memory-guided microsaccades

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin-Friedrich Willeke ◽  
Xiaoguang Tian ◽  
Antimo Buonocore ◽  
Joachim Bellet ◽  
Araceli Ramirez-Cardenas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Visual Performance ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Visual Guidance ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Visually Guided Movements ◽  
Superior Colliculus Neurons

AbstractMicrosaccades are overwhelmingly described as involuntary eye movements. Here we show in both human subjects and monkeys that individual microsaccades of any direction can easily be triggered: (1) “on demand”, based on an arbitrary instruction, (2) without any special training, (3) without visual guidance by a stimulus, and (4) in a spatially and temporally accurate manner. Subjects voluntarily generated instructed “memory-guided” microsaccades readily, and similarly to how they made normal visually-guided ones. In two monkeys, we also observed midbrain superior colliculus neurons that exhibited movement-related activity bursts exclusively for memory-guided microsaccades, but not for similarly-sized visually-guided movements. Our results demonstrate behavioral and neural evidence for voluntary control over individual microsaccades, supporting recently discovered functional contributions of individual microsaccade generation to visual performance alterations and covert visual selection.

Effects of low-frequency stimulation of the superior colliculus on spontaneous and visually guided saccades

1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 953-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Glimcher ◽  
D. L. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Arbitrary Point ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Spontaneous Movements ◽  
Low Frequency Stimulation ◽  
Frequency Stimulation ◽  
Stimulation Current ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. The first experiment of this study determined the effects of low-frequency stimulation of the monkey superior colliculus on spontaneous saccades in the dark. Stimulation trains, subthreshold for eliciting short-latency fixed-vector saccades, were highly effective at biasing the metrics (direction and amplitude) of spontaneous movements. During low-frequency stimulation, the distribution of saccade metrics was biased toward the direction and amplitude of movements induced by suprathreshold stimulation of the same collicular location. 2. Low-frequency stimulation biased the distribution of saccade metrics but did not initiate movements. The distribution of intervals between stimulation onset and the onset of the next saccade did not differ significantly from the distribution of intervals between an arbitrary point in time and the onset of the next saccade under unstimulated conditions. 3. Results of our second experiment indicate that low-frequency stimulation also influenced the metrics of visually guided saccades. The magnitude of the stimulation-induced bias increased as stimulation current or frequency was increased. 4. The time course of these effects was analyzed by terminating stimulation immediately before, during, or after visually guided saccades. Stimulation trains terminated at the onset of a movement were as effective as stimulation trains that continued throughout the movement. No effects were observed if stimulation ended 40–60 ms before the movement began. 5. These results show that low-frequency collicular stimulation can influence the direction and amplitude of spontaneous or visually guided saccades without initiating a movement. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that the collicular activity responsible for specifying the horizontal and vertical amplitude of a saccade differs from the type of collicular activity that initiates a saccade.

Effects of Local Nicotinic Activation of the Superior Colliculus on Saccades in Monkeys

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 519-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Watanabe ◽  
Yasushi Kobayashi ◽  
Yuka Inoue ◽  
Tadashi Isa
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
Affected Area ◽  
Movement Field ◽  
Neural Interactions ◽  
Restricted Region

To examine the role of competitive and cooperative neural interactions within the intermediate layer of superior colliculus (SC), we elevated the basal SC neuronal activity by locally injecting a cholinergic agonist nicotine and analyzed its effects on saccade performance. After microinjection, spontaneous saccades were directed toward the movement field of neurons at the injection site (affected area). For visually guided saccades, reaction times were decreased when targets were presented close to the affected area. However, when visual targets were presented remote from the affected area, reaction times were not increased regardless of the rostrocaudal level of the injection sites. The endpoints of visually guided saccades were biased toward the affected area when targets were presented close to the affected area. After this endpoint effect diminished, the trajectories of visually guided saccades remained modestly curved toward the affected area. Compared with the effects on endpoints, the effects on reaction times were more localized to the targets close to the affected area. These results are consistent with a model that saccades are triggered by the activities of neurons within a restricted region, and the endpoints and trajectories of the saccades are determined by the widespread population activity in the SC. However, because increased reaction times were not observed for saccades toward targets remote from the affected area, inhibitory interactions in the SC may not be strong enough to shape the spatial distribution of the low-frequency preparatory activities in the SC.

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