HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 92/1/468    most recent 01202.2003v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ringach, D. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ringach, D. L.

Haphazard Wiring of Simple Receptive Fields and Orientation Columns in Visual Cortex

Departments of Neurobiology and Psychology, Jules Stein Eye Institute and Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095

Submitted 12 December 2003; accepted in final form 25 February 2004

The receptive fields of simple cells in visual cortex are composed of elongated ON and OFF subregions. This spatial arrangement is widely thought to be responsible for the generation of orientation selectivity. Neurons with similar orientation preferences cluster in "columns" that tile the cortical surface and form a map of orientation selectivity. It has been proposed that simple cell receptive fields are constructed by the selective pooling of geniculate receptive fields aligned in space. A recent analysis of monosynaptic connections between geniculate and cortical neurons appears to reveal the existence of "wiring rules" that are in accordance with the classical model. The precise origin of the orientation map is unknown, but both genetic and activity-dependent processes are thought to contribute. Here, we put forward the hypothesis that statistical sampling from the retinal ganglion cell mosaic may contribute to the generation of simple cells and provide a blueprint for orientation columns. Results from computer simulations show that the "haphazard wiring" model is consistent with data on the probability of monosynaptic connections and generates orientation columns and maps resembling those found in the cortex. The haphazard wiring hypothesis could be tested by measuring the correlation between the orientation map and the structure of the retinal ganglion cell mosaic of the contralateral eye.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Grabska-Barwinska and C. von der Malsburg Establishment of a Scaffold for Orientation Maps in Primary Visual Cortex of Higher Mammals J. Neurosci., January 2, 2008; 28(1): 249 - 257. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. Bredfeldt and B. G. Cumming A simple account of cyclopean edge responses in macaque v2. J. Neurosci., July 19, 2006; 26(29): 7581 - 7596. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-M. Alonso and H. A. Swadlow Thalamocortical Specificity and the Synthesis of Sensory Cortical Receptive Fields J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2005; 94(1): 26 - 32. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]