Silent suppressive surrounds and optimal spatial frequencies of single neurons in cat V1.
The receptive fields of the clear majority of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of cats contain silent surround regions beyond the classical receptive field (CRF). When stimulated on their own, the silent surround regions do not generate action potentials (spikes); instead, they modulate (and usually partially suppress) spike responses to stimuli presented in the CRF. In the present study, we subdivided our sample of single V1 neurons recorded from anesthetized cats into two distinct categories: surround-suppressive (SS) cells and surround-non-suppressive (SN) cells. Consistent with previous reports, we found a negative correlation between the size of the CRF and the optimal spatial frequency (SF) of circular patches of achromatic gratings presented in the cells' receptive fields. Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between the strength of the surround suppression and the optimal spatial frequency of the achromatic gratings presented in the cells' receptive fields. The correlation between the strength of surround suppression and the optimal spatial frequency was stronger in neurons with suppressive regions located in the so-called 'end' zones. The functional implications of these relationships are discussed.
Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Xu
X
Tao
Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Yan
Y
Hong-Mei
Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: xmsong@sibs.ac.cn.
Song
S
Xue-Mei
The College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China.
Ming
M
Li
Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Yong-Jie
YJ
Li
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
Primary visual cortex (V1); Spatial frequency (SF); Surround- suppressive (SS); Surround-non-suppressive (SN)