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Types of receptive fields of the lateral geniculate body and their functional model

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Abstract

Functional differences between the type I and II receptive fields of the lateral geniculate body were studied in the cat. Some properties of these fields were shown to coincide with properties of "phasic" (Y type) and "tonic" (X type) of receptive fields. The type I fields have a limited range for transmission of information about the intensity of illumination; the type II fields, on the other hand, have a normal dynamic range of 2 log units. Using the number of spikes in groups as a measure of nervous activity, a neurophysiological scale of brightness corresponding to the psychological scale can be constructed on the basis of responses of the type II receptive field. It is postulated that type I receptive fields serve to transmit information on the shape of the image (spatial and temporal contrasts) and the type II fields transmit information on intensity of illumination. Investigation of the dynamic functional model showed that the type of receptive field is determined by the depth of inhibition through the interneuron. The depth of inhibition is much greater for type I than for type II.

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Authors
  1. K. N. Dudkin
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  2. V. D. Glezer
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  3. V. E. Gauzel'man
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Additional information

I. P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 27–34, January–February, 1975.

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Dudkin, K.N., Glezer, V.D. & Gauzel'man, V.E. Types of receptive fields of the lateral geniculate body and their functional model. Neurophysiology 7, 21–26 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01063020

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01063020

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