Skip to main content

Stereoperception in cats following section of the corpus callosum and/or the optic chiasma

Experimental Brain Research volume 61, pages 258–264 (1986)Cite this article

Summary

The spatial separation of the eyes in animals with overlapping visual fields means that parts of a three dimensional object project to slightly disparate retinal points in each eye. This disparity, once interpreted by the brain, is thought to be a sufficient condition for Stereoperception. In the present experiment, stereopsis based on spatial disparity cues was evaluated in cats using Julesz random-dot stereograms before and after sections of the optic chiasm, the corpus callosum or both. Normal cats were able to solve the random-dot problem. Optic chiasm transection drastically diminished this ability, callosal section had little effect and combined lesions of these two structures abolished Stereoperception. These results suggest that central stereopsis based on spatial disparity is mainly mediated by binocular cortical cells receiving their input via the ipsilateral and the through-the-chiasm contralateral thalamocortical pathways.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Barlow HB, Blakemore C, Pettigrew JD (1967) The neural mechanisms of binocular depth discrimination. J Physiol (Lond) 193: 327–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlucchi G (1981) Recent advances in the analysis of the neural substrates of interhemispheric communication. In: Pompeiano O, Ajmone Marsan C (eds) Brain mechanisms of perceptual awareness and purposeful behavior. Raven Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlucchi G, Rizzolatti G (1968) Binocularly driven neurons in visual cortex of split chiasm cats. Science 159: 308–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop PO (1973) Neurophysiology of binocular single vision and stereopsis. In: Jung R (ed) Handbook of sensory physiology, Vol VII/3A. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake R, Hirsch HVB (1975) Deficits in binocular depth perception after alternating monocular deprivation. Science 190: 1114–1116

    Google Scholar 

  • Blakemore C (1970a) The representation of three dimensional visual space in the cat's striate cortex. J Physiol (Lond) 209: 155–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Blakemore C (1970b) Binocular depth perception and the optic chiasm. Vision Res 10: 43–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Bough EW (1970) Stereoscopic vision in the macaque monkey: a behavioral demonstration. Nature 225: 42–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowey A, Porter R (1979) Brain damage and global stereopsis. Proc R Soc B 204: 399–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowey A (1985) Disturbances of stereopsis by brain damage. In: Ingle DJ, Jeannerod M, Lee DN (eds) Brain mechanisms of spatial vision. Martinus Nijhoff, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowey A, Parkinson AM, Warwick L (1975) Global stereopsis in rhesus monkeys. QJ Exp Psychol 27: 93–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Elberger A (1979) The role of the corpus callosum in the development of eye alignment and the organization of the visual field in the cat. Exp Brain Res 36: 71–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox R, Blake RR (1971) Stereoscopic vision in the cat. Nature 233: 55–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Gellerman LW (1933) Chance order of alternating stimuli in visual discrimination experiments. J Genet Psychol 42: 207–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Joshua DE, Bishop PO (1970) Binocular single vision and depth discrimination. Receptive field disparities for central and peripheral vision and binocular interaction on peripheral units in cat striate cortex. Exp Brain Res 10: 389–416

    Google Scholar 

  • Julesz B (1971) Foundation of cyclopian perception. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaye M, Mitchell DE, Cynader M (1981) Selective loss of binocular depth perception after ablation of cat visual cortex. Nature 293: 60–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaye ME, Mitchell DE, Cynader M (1982) Depth perception, eye alignment and cortical ocular dominance of dark reared cats. Develop Brain Res 2: 37–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Klüver H, Barrera E (1953) A method for combined staining of cells and fibres in the nervous system. J Neuropath Exp Neurol 12: 400–403

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepore F, Guillemot J-P (1982) Visual receptive field properties of cells innervated through the corpus callosum in the cat. Exp Brain Res 46: 413–424

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepore F, Ptito M, Guillemont J-P (1985) The role of the corpus callosum in midline fusion. In: Lepore F, Ptito M, Jasper HH (eds) Two hemispheres, one brain? Alan Liss, New York (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell DE, Blakemore C (1970) Binocular depth perception and the corpus callosum. Vision Res 10: 49–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell DE, Timney B (1982) Behavioral measurements of normal and abnormal development of vision in the cat. In: Ingle JD, Goodale MA, Mansfield JW (eds) Analysis of visual behavior. M.I.T. Press, Cambrigde

    Google Scholar 

  • Packwood J, Gordon B (1975) Stereopsis in normal domestic cat, Siamese cat and cat raised with alternating monocular occlusion. J Neurophysiol 38: 1485–1499

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne BR, Murphy EH (1981) A quantitative assessment of eye alignment in cats after corpus callosum transection. Exp Brain Res 43: 371–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew JD (1973) Binocular neurones which signal change of disparity in area 18 of cat visual cortex. Nature 241: 123–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Ptito M, Lepore F (1983) Effects of unilateral and bilateral lesions of the lateral suprasylvian area on learning and interhemispheric transfer of pattern discrimination in the cat. Behav Brain Res 7: 211–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman SM (1972) Development of interocular alignment in cats. Brain Res 37: 187–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Timney B, Elberger A, Vandewater ML (1985) Binocular depth perception in the cat following early corpus callosum section. Exp Brain Res 60: 19–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Von der Hoydt R, Adorjani C, Hanny P, Baumgartner G (1978) Disparity sensitivity and receptive field incongruity of units in the cat striate cortex. Exp Brain Res 31: 523–545

    Google Scholar 

  • Walk RD, Gibson JJ (1961) A comparative and analytical study of visual depth perception, Psychol Monogr 75: 1–44

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Departement de Psychologie et Centre de Recherches en Sciences Neurologiques, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, H3C 3J7, Montréal, P.Q., Canada

    F. Lepore

  2. Groupe de Recherches en Neuropsychologie Expérimentale, Université du Québec, C.P. 500, G9A 5H7, Trois-Rivières, P.Q., Canada

    M. Ptito & M. Lassonde

Authors
  1. F. Lepore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Ptito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. Lassonde
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lepore, F., Ptito, M. & Lassonde, M. Stereoperception in cats following section of the corpus callosum and/or the optic chiasma. Exp Brain Res 61, 258–264 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00239515

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00239515

Key words

  • Corpus callosum
  • Optic chiasm cats
  • Global stereopsis
  • Random-dot stereograms