title: Retina versus cortex; contrast adaptation in parallel visual pathways.
abstract: Human vision adapts to the contrast of patterns by changing its sensitivity, but the origins of this perceptual adaptation have been disputed. In this issue of Neuron, Solomon et al. show that contrast adaptation in the primate arises mostly in the retina for the magnocellular pathway and mostly in the cortex for the parvocellular pathway. It appears that adaptation arises most strongly at sites that pool over many inputs.
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Baccus
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meister
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*