Receptive field

About: Receptive field is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8537 publications have been published within this topic receiving 596428 citations.

Functional organization in the superior colliculus of the golden hamster.

Abstract: The superior colliculus of the golden hamster was investigated by means of multi-unit and single unit recording. The retinotopic map, which probably embraces a projection from the entire retina of the contralateral eye, is organized as in other vertebrates, with the central field represented in the anterior colliculus, the upper field medially. Magnification factor is fairly uniform and is about 0.02 mm/deg. There is a small binocular segment (where almost half of all neurones have input from the ipsilateral eye) in the anterior colliculus, representing the area of field around the area centralis and the anterior pole of the field. In the more superficial layers, units have small (about 10 deg diameter) receptive fields, which can be classified as symmetrical, responding to slow movement (80%), very fast movement detectors (6%), directional movement detectors (13%) and axial movement detectors (1%). In the deeper layers, below the stratum opticum, receptive field size increases dramatically and many cells habituate rapidly, making them sensitive only to new events. Receptive fields can be classified as movement detectors (89%), directional movement detectors (10%) and axial movement detectors (2%). All directional receptive fields, at least in the upper visual field, have an upward component in their directional preferences. About 42% of deeper layer cells have somatic sensory input, responding to light touch on the fur or whiskers of the contralateral half of the body. Some 5% of cells respond to complex sounds on the contralateral side of the animal. Many of these somatic and auditory cells also have visual receptive fields and, throughout the colliculus, there is general correspondence between the maps of visual space, auditory space and the body surface. This correlation may be important in the regulation of orienting behaviour towards novel peripheral stimuli.

Morphologies of rabbit retinal ganglion cells with complex receptive fields.

Abstract: Ganglion cells that had complex receptive field properties, namely, On-Off and On direction-selective cells, orientation-selective cells, local edge detectors, and uniformity detectors (suppressed by contrast cells) were recorded in an isolated superfused rabbit eyecup preparation. Cells were first classified by their characteristic extracellular responses to manually controlled stimuli similar to those which have been used in previous in vivo studies. Ganglion cells were then impaled, confirmed in identity by intracellular recording, and iontophoretically injected with horseradish peroxidase for staining. Twenty-two ganglion cells, which included members of all the major classes mentioned above, were recovered from the visual streak or near periphery. All recovered cells were drawn in camera lucida from flat-mounted retinas and entered into a computer as two-dimensional stick figures; nearly all were three-dimensionally reconstructed to determine the level and manner of dendritic ramification in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The location of ganglion cell dendrites in sublaminar regions of the IPL was found to be consistent with the hypothesis of a division of the IPL into excitatory On (proximal) and Off (distal) sublaminae, with some qualifications for particular classes. Each of the complex receptive field ganglion cell classes exhibited a distinctive three-dimensional dendritic arborization pattern uniquely associated with that physiological class.

First-order analysis of optical flow in monkey brain

Abstract: Optical flow is a rich source of information about the three-dimensional motion and structure of the visual environment Little is known of how the brain derives this information One possibility is that it analyzes first-order elementary components of optical flow, such as expansion, rotation, and shear Using a combination of physiological recordings and modeling techniques, we investigated the contribution of the middle superior temporal area (MST), a third-order cortical area in the dorsal visual pathway that receives inputs from the medial temporal area (MT) The results show (i) that MST cells, but not MT cells, are selective for elementary flow components (EFCs) alone or their combination with translation, (ii) that MST cells selective for an EFC do not extract this component from a more complex motion pattern, and (iii) that position invariance as observed in MST is compatible with an input arrangement from MT cells matching the selectivity of MST neurons

Nucleus centralis of the amygdala and the globus pallidus ventralis: electrophysiological evidence for an involvement in pain processes

Abstract: 1. Neurons (n = 177) were recorded with extracellular micropipettes in and around the nucleus centralis of the amygdala (Ce), in anesthetized rats. The spontaneous activity of these neurons was variable (0.25 less than 3 less than 35 Hz, n = 175; 10th percentile less than median less than 90th percentile). A majority (80%) of these neurons were excited or inhibited exclusively or preferentially by noxious stimuli. These units were separated into two groups: 1) a group of neurons excited by noxious stimuli (46% of the whole population) and 2) a group of neurons inhibited by noxious stimuli (34% of the whole population). 2. The receptive fields of both groups of neurons were very large: in about one-half the cases the neurons responded similarly from all parts of the body, and in the other cases the responses were greater when the stimuli were applied to a restricted part of the body. 3. Seventy-seven percent of the excited neurons had responses of relatively high magnitudes. In this group, most cells (75%) were exclusively driven by noxious stimuli; the others (25%) were preferentially activated by noxious stimuli. These neurons responded to mechanical (pinch or squeeze) and/or thermal (water bath or water jet greater than 44 degrees C) noxious stimuli with a marked and sustained activation. 4. Sixty percent of the inhibited neurons had a marked decrease of activity in response to noxious stimuli. In this group, most of them (81%) were exclusively inhibited by noxious stimuli, whereas the remainder (19%) were preferentially inhibited by noxious stimuli. These neurons responded to mechanical (pinch or squeeze) and/or thermal (water bath or waterjet greater than 44 degrees C) noxious stimuli with a suppression or a marked and sustained decrease in activity. 5. All of the nociceptive neurons responded to intense transcutaneous electrical stimulation with one or several components of activation or inhibition. According to their latencies, three types of components were distinguished: early, intermediate, and late components. We estimate that the early and the intermediate components would be triggered by the activity of peripheral fibers in the 6- to 20-m/s range and therefore could be in the A delta fibers range, whereas the late component would be triggered by fibers in the 0.5- to 1-m/s range and therefore could be in the C fibers range. 6. The neurons excited or inhibited by noxious stimuli were not homogeneously distributed in and around the Ce.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Responses of cells in monkey visual cortex during perceptual filling-in of an artificial scotoma.

Abstract: When we view a scene through one eye, we typically do not see the scotomas created by the optic disc and the blood vessels overlying the retinal surface. Similarly, when a texture field containing a hole is steadily viewed in peripheral vision (artificial scotoma), the hole appears to fill in with the surrounding texture in a matter of seconds, demonstrating that the visual system fills in information across regions where no information is available. Here we show that, in monkeys viewing a similar texture field with a hole, the responses of extrastriate visual neurons with receptive fields covering the hole increase gradually to a level comparable to that elicited by the same texture without a hole. The time course of these dynamic changes in activity parallels the time course of perceived filling-in of the hole by human observers, suggesting that this process mediates perceptual filling-in.