Dynamic and static receptive field characteristics of single neurons in the lateral suprasylvian area in cats

1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Dzhavadyan ◽  
B. A. Arutyunyan-Kozak ◽  
�. G. Kas'yan
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Lateral Suprasylvian Area

Visual response properties of single neurons in the temporal pole of behaving monkeys

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 1206-1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Nakamura ◽  
K. Matsumoto ◽  
A. Mikami ◽  
K. Kubota
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Sample Stimulus ◽  
Anterior Part ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Temporal Pole

1. The responses of single neurons in the anterior part of the temporal cortex in monkeys, mainly the temporopolar cortex, area 36, and the most anterior part of area TE of von Bonin and Bailey (1947) (these areas were designated here as the temporal pole), were examined during the performance of a visual recognition memory task. The visual stimulus (sample stimulus) was presented when the monkey pressed a lever. The same sample stimulus was presented one to four times and, thereafter, a new stimulus was presented. The monkeys were trained to discriminate the new stimulus from the sample stimulus and to release the lever in response to the new stimulus. We used colored photographs of natural objects (human faces, monkeys, foods, and non-food objects) as complex visual stimuli or computer-generated two-dimensional shapes (a red square, a green circle, etc.) as simple visual stimuli. 2. In total, the activity of 311 neurons was recorded, and 225 of these responded to at least one visual stimulus. All visually responsive neurons were located in the ventral part of the temporal pole including the banks of the superior temporal sulcus. 3. The relationship between the monkey's eye movements and visual responses was investigated. Visual response properties, such as the number of spikes, onset latency, and response duration, were stable regardless of the monkey's eye positions and movements if the eyes were directed to the display. We also examined the receptive field property of neurons (n = 3). The neurons tested in the temporal pole tended to have a large receptive field (24 x 24 degrees). 4. The neurons tended to respond to different stimuli in different magnitudes. In each case, the maximal responses were elicited by complex, colored photographs, whereas simple, two-dimensional colored shapes elicited little or no responses. In 21% of the cases (47/225), the magnitude of the maximal response was significantly larger than for any of the other responses. 5. An achromatic version of the stimulus that induced the maximal response was tested in 53 neurons. About 80% of the neurons (41/53) responded to the achromatic stimulus at a magnitude that was not significantly different from the response to the original stimulus. In 12 neurons, the removal of color did significantly decrease the magnitude of the response. When other colors were tested, 3 of 9 neurons were found to code for color. 6. In 21 of these 53 neurons, a portion (the left-, right-, upper-, or lower-half) of the stimulus was also tested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Neonatal Whisker Removal Reduces the Discrimination of Tactile Stimuli by Thalamic Ensembles in Adult Rats

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 1691-1706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. L. Nicolelis ◽  
Rick C. S. Lin ◽  
John K. Chapin
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
The Body ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Medial Nucleus ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Posterior Medial Nucleus ◽  
Receptive Field Organization ◽  
Stimulus Offset

Nicolelis, Miguel A. L., Rick C. S. Lin, and John K. Chapin. Neonatal whisker removal reduces the discrimination of tactile stimuli by thalamic ensembles in adult rats. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1691–1706, 1997. Simultaneous recordings of up to 48 single neurons per animal were used to characterize the long-term functional effects of sensory plastic modifications in the ventral posterior medial nucleus (VPM) of the thalamus following unilateral removal of facial whiskers in newborn rats. One year after this neonatal whisker deprivation, neurons in the contralateral VPM responded to cutaneous stimulation of the face at much longer minimal latencies (15.2 ± 8.2 ms, mean ± SD) than did normal cells (8.8 ± 5.3 ms) in the same subregion of the VPM. In 69% of these neurons, the initial sensory responses to stimulus offset were followed for up to 700 ms by reverberant trains of bursting discharge, alternating in 100-ms cycles with inhibition. Receptive fields in the deafferented VPM were also atypical in that they extended over the entire face, shoulder, forepaw, hindpaw, and even ipsilateral whiskers. Discriminant analysis (DA) was then used to statistically evaluate how this abnormal receptive field organization might affect the ability of thalamocortical neuronal populations to “discriminate” somatosensory stimulus location. To standardize this analysis, three stimulus targets (“groups”) were chosen in all animals such that they triangulated the central region of the “receptive field” of the recorded multineuronal ensemble. In the normal animals these stimulus targets were whiskers or perioral hairs; in the deprived animals the targets typically included hairy skin of the body as well as face. The measured variables consisted of each neuron's spiking response to each stimulus differentiated into three poststimulus response epochs (0–15, 15–30, and 30–45 ms). DA quantified the statistical contribution of each of these variables to its overall discrimination between the three stimulus sites. In the normal animals, the stimulus locations were correctly classified in 88.2 ± 3.7% of trials on the basis of the spatiotemporal patterns of ensemble activity derived from up to 18 single neurons. In the deprived animals, the stimulus locations were much less consistently discriminated (reduced to 73.5 ± 12.6%; difference from controls significant at P < 0.01) despite the fact that much more widely spaced stimulus targets were used and even when up to 20 neurons were included in the ensemble. Overall, these results suggest that neonatal damage to peripheral sense organs may produce marked changes in the physiology of individual neurons in the somatosensory thalamus. Moreover, the present demonstration that these changes can profoundly alter sensory discrimination at the level of neural populations in the thalamus provides important evidence that the well-known perceptual effects of chronic peripheral deprivation may be partially attributable to plastic reorganization at subcortical levels.

Receptive-field characteristics of single neurons in lateral suprasylvian visual area of the cat

1975 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1403-1420 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Spear ◽  
T. P. Baumann
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Spatial Summation ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Null Direction ◽  
Stimulus Movement ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms ◽  
Stimulus Shape

The visual receptive fields of 213 cells in the lateral suprasylvian visual cortex (LS, or Clare-Bishop area) were studied in cats anesthetized with nitrous oxide. Eighty-one percent of the cells were directionally selective. They responded poorly to stationary stimuli flashed on or off, but gave a directionally selective response to stimuli moving through the receptive field. Most of these had a single preferred direction and an opposite null direction. They typically responded to a range of directions of stimulus movement from 45 to 90 degrees to either side of the preferred direction. Small stimuli (1-2 degrees or smaller) typically were effective and 87% of the directionally selective cells showed spatial summation. About 32% had inhibitory mechanisms which decreased the response of the cell if the stimulus exceeded a maximum size. There was little or no evidence that LS area cells were orientation selective or sensitive to variations in stimulus shape independent of size.

The effects of acetylcholine on response properties of cat somatosensory cortical neurons

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 1231-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Metherate ◽  
N. Tremblay ◽  
R. W. Dykes
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Cortical Layers ◽  
Thalamic Stimulation ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Behavioral States ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Two-hundred thirty-three single neurons were isolated and studied in somatosensory cortex of cats anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium or urethane. Two-hundred and three were studied during iontophoretic administration of acetylcholine (ACh), 173 during administration of glutamate, and 24 during administration of atropine. 2. Fifty-six percent of the 218 neurons tested responded to somatic stimuli. Another 21% did so during glutamate administration. In 11 cases ACh iontophoresis uncovered a receptive field in a previously unresponsive cell. 3. Forty-six percent of the 160 cells tested responded to thalamic stimulation. Another 17% did so in the presence of glutamate, but 19 cells responded to neither cutaneous nor thalamic stimuli. 4. Sixteen percent of the 203 cells tested were overtly excited by ACh and the responses to somatic stimulation of 29% were modulated by administration of ACh. Cells displaying overt excitation and/or modulation of responses were said to be cholinoceptive and made up 39% of the sample. These cells were located in all cortical layers. 5. Cholinoceptive neurons were more likely than noncholinoceptive cells to be driven by thalamic stimulation. 6. The changes observed during ACh administration tended to be facilitatory: an enhanced responsiveness to somatic stimuli, an increased firing rate, or an increased receptive-field size. However, in 10 of the 203 cases tested one or more of these variables decreased. 7. The enhanced responsiveness during ACh administration was a robust phenomenon; responses were often increased by as much as 200% and the discharge pattern was altered so that bursts of impulses following stimulation were more common. 8. ACh tended to enhance one attribute of a cell selectively rather than to act as a general excitant. 9. ACh is a powerful neuromodulatory agent in somatosensory cortex that, when released in specific behavioral states, should enhance the responsiveness of cortical neurons.

Effects of selective pressure block of Y-type optic nerve fibers on the receptive-field properties of neurons in the striate cortex of the cat

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Burke ◽  
B. Dreher ◽  
A. Michalski ◽  
B. G. Cleland ◽  
M. H. Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Optic Nerve ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Striate Cortex ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
Area 17 ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Velocity Sensitivity

AbstractIn an aseptic operation under surgical anesthesia, one optic nerve of a cat was exposed and subjected to pressure by means of a special cuff. The conduction of impulses through the pressurized region was monitored by means of electrodes which remained in the animal after the operation. The pressure was adjusted to selectively eliminate conduction in the largest fibers (Y-type) but not in the medium-size fibers (X-type). The conduction block is probably due to a demyelination and remains complete for about 3 weeks. Within 2 weeks after the pressure-block operation, recordings were made from single neurons in the striate cortex (area 17, area VI) of the cat anesthetized with N2O/O2 mixture supplemented by continuous intravenous infusion of barbiturate. Neurons were activated visually via the normal eye and via the eye with the pressure-blocked optic nerve (“Y-blocked eye”). Several properties of the receptive fields of single neurons in area 17 such as S (simple) or C (complex) type of receptive-field organization, size of discharge fields, orientation tuning, direction-selectivity indices, and end-zone inhibition appear to be unaffected by removal of the Y-type input. On the other hand, the peak discharge rates to stimuli presented via the Y-blocked eye were significantly lower than those to stimuli presented via the normal eye. As a result, the eye-dominance histogram was shifted markedly towards the normal eye implying that there is a significant excitatory Y-type input to area 17. In a substantial proportion of area 17 neurons, this input converges onto the cells which receive also non-Y-type inputs. In one respect, velocity sensitivity, removal of the Y input had a weak but significant effect. In particular, C (but not S) cells when activated via the normal eye responded optimally at slightly higher stimulus velocities than when activated via the Y-blocked eye. These results suggest that the Y input makes a distinct contribution to velocity sensitivity in area 17 but only in C-type neurons. Overall, our results lead us to the conclusion that the Y-type input to the striate cortex of the cat makes a significant contribution to the strength of the excitatory response of many neurons in this area. However, the contributions of Y-type input to the mechanism(s) underlying many of the receptive-field properties of neurons in this area are not distinguishable from those of the non-Y-type visual inputs.

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