INTRODUCTION

TOP ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION APPENDIX REFERENCES

Over the past several decades, many different laboratories have measured the responses of primary visual cortex neurons as a function of luminance contrast, and as a consequence, we have acquired a rich understanding of the basic properties of the contrast response function (e.g., Albrecht 1978, 1995; Albrecht and Geisler 1991; Albrecht and Hamilton 1982; Bonds 1991; Carandini and Heeger 1994; Carandini et al. 1997; DeAngelis et al. 1993; Geisler and Albrecht 1992, 1997; Geisler et al. 1991; Li and Creutzfeldt 1984; Ohzawa et al. 1985; Sclar and Freeman 1982; Sclar et al. 1990; Tolhurst and Heeger 1997; for recent reviews, see Albrecht et al. 2002; Carandini et al. 1999; Geisler and Albrecht 2000). Although there is a great deal of heterogeneity from cell to cell, it is possible to provide a description of the basic properties of the contrast response function that applies to the overwhelming majority of neurons: As the contrast increases from zero, the response increases in an accelerating fashion, remains dynamic over some limited range of contrasts, and then saturates. Studies of this contrast response relationship have revealed two important nonlinear properties of cortical neurons: 1) a contrast-set gain control (also referred to as "contrast normalization") and 2) an expansive response exponent (also referred to as "half-squaring;" i.e., half-wave rectification followed by an expansive exponent of 2.0).

There is a wealth of evidence to indicate that the two nonlinearities have important consequences on the overall stimulus selectivity of cortical neurons: The expansive response exponent enhances stimulus selectivity and the contrast-set gain control maintains stimulus selectivity independent of contrast (see references and reviews cited in the preceding paragraph as well as Albrecht and Geisler 1994; Bradley et al. 1987; Ferster and Miller 2000; Gardner et al. 1999; Heeger 1991, 1992a,b, 1993; McLean and Palmer 1994; Murthy et al. 1998; Skottun et al. 1986; Troyer et al. 1998). However, in order for these two nonlinear properties to enhance and maintain stimulus selectivity during normal saccadic inspection of a visual scene, their temporal dynamics would have to be rapid enough to occur within a single fixation (i.e., within a few hundred milliseconds, or less).

All of the studies of the contrast response function referenced in the preceding paragraphs have been performed using prolonged ("steady-state") stimuli with durations far in excess of a few hundred milliseconds, and there was little or no analysis of what occurs over the course of the first few hundred milliseconds. Similarly, investigations of the temporal dynamics of contrast gain control and contrast adaptation have generally measured and analyzed the responses over the course of many seconds (e.g., Albrecht et al. 1984; Bonds 1991; McLean and Palmer 1996; Movshon and Lennie 1979; Ohzawa et al. 1985; Saul and Cynader 1989a,b; Sclar et al. 1989). Although several studies have shown that contrast adaptation (and/or contrast gain control) can have a rapid onset (Bonds 1991; Frazor et al. 1997; Gawne et al. 1996; Geisler and Albrecht 1992; Müller et al. 1999; Reich et al. 2001; Tolhurst et al. 1980), there have been no comprehensive evaluations of how the basic characteristics of the contrast response function (specifically, the expansive response exponent and the contrast-set gain control) develop during the first few hundred milliseconds after presentation of a given contrast. Therefore it is uncertain whether the important consequences of the contrast nonlinearities on stimulus selectivity operate within the time frame that would be useful for perception during normal saccadic inspection.

The goal of the present study was to measure the temporal dynamics of the contrast response function over the course of a very brief interval in order to assess whether the contrast-set gain control and response expansion operate rapidly enough to be effective within a single fixation. To accomplish this goal, we presented stationary sinusoidal gratings for 200 ms at 10 different levels of contrast and 8 different spatial positions. The responses as a function of contrast and spatial position were analyzed throughout the entire course of the response in time bins that varied from 2 to 20 ms (depending on the analysis). In general, we found a great diversity from cell to cell in the temporal pattern of the response, the temporal response profile (i.e., in the shape of the poststimulus time histogram); however, within a given cell, the shape of the temporal response profile was relatively invariant as a function of contrast and position. Further, the basic characteristics of the contrast response function (in particular, the response expansion and the contrast-set gain control) were fully expressed within the first 10 ms after the onset of the response and they remained relatively invariant throughout the entire time course of the response, for both optimal and nonoptimal spatial positions.

	METHODS

TOP ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION APPENDIX REFERENCES

Recording and physiology

The procedures for the paralyzed anesthetized preparation, the electrophysiological recording, the stimulus display, and the measurement of neural responses using systems analysis were similar to those described elsewhere (Albrecht and Geisler 1991; Geisler and Albrecht 1997; Geisler et al. 2001; Hamilton et al. 1989; Metha et al. 2001). All experimental procedures were approved by the University of Texas at Austin Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and conform to the National Institutes of Health guidelines. In brief, young adult cats (Felis domesticus) and monkeys (Macaca fascicularis or M. mulatta) were prepared for recording under deep isoflurane anesthesia. Following the surgical procedures, isoflurane anesthesia was discontinued. Anesthesia and paralysis were maintained throughout the duration of the experiment using the following pharmaceuticals. For cats, anesthesia was maintained with pentothal sodium (2-6 mg · kg¹ · h¹). For monkeys, anesthesia was maintained with sufentanil citrate (2-8 µg · kg¹ · h¹). For both species, paralysis was maintained with gallamine triethiodide (10 mg · kg¹ · h¹) as well as pancuronium bromide (0.1 mg · kg¹ · h¹). The physiological state of the animal was monitored throughout the experiment by continuous measurement of the following quantitative indices: body temperature, inhaled/exhaled respiratory gases, pressure in the airway, fluid input, urine output, urinary pH, caloric input, blood glucose level, electroencephalogram, and electrocardiogram. Microelectrodes were inserted into regions of the primary visual cortex such that the receptive fields of the neurons were located within 5° of the visual axis. Three different types of microelectrodes were utilized: varnish-insulated tungsten, glass pipette, or glass-coated platinum-iridium. The impedances of the microelectrodes ranged from 8 to 21 M.

Action potentials were collected with a temporal accuracy of 0.1 ms and then binned to produce a poststimulus time histogram (PSTH). Note that within this report, we refer to the PSTH as the temporal response profile. For some analyses, the responses were averaged across 2-, 10-, 20-, or 200-ms time bins; for other analyses, the responses were averaged across 10-ms bins and this average was computed every ms: a 10-ms running average evaluated at every ms throughout the entire time course of the response (cf. De Valois and Pease 1973; Enroth-Cugell and Robson 1966; Gerstein 1960; Levick and Zacks 1970).

Stimulus presentation

The stimuli were presented on a monochromatic Image Systems monitor at a frame rate of 100 Hz, with a mean luminance of 27.4 cd/m². To overcome the nonlinearities inherent in visual displays, both hardware and software methods were used to ensure a linear relationship between the requested luminance and the measured luminance. The precision of these methods to overcome the nonlinearities in the visual display was assessed through quantitative measurements that were performed before, during, and after each experiment.

Preliminary measurements

Prior to the main experimental protocol, several qualitative determinations were performed by simply listening to the firing rate of the cell as a function of different stimulus manipulations. Specifically, the optimum orientation, spatial frequency, and temporal frequency were determined by varying the stimuli along these dimensions while listening to the firing rate of the cell. For the dimension of contrast, the minimum detectable contrast, half-saturation contrast, and saturation contrast were determined. In all of the experiments reported here, the stimuli were confined to the conventional receptive field, which was determined by expanding the size (the length and the width separately) of an optimal drifting sine wave grating until the neuron's response stopped increasing (DeAngelis et al. 1994; De Valois et al. 1985). Following these qualitative determinations, the responses of each cell were quantitatively and systematically measured as a function of orientation, spatial frequency, and contrast. Cells were classified as simple cells or complex cells using the criteria described by De Valois et al. (1982; see also Skottun et al. 1991).

Stimulus protocol: stationary gratings at different contrasts and phases

Following the preliminary experiments, stationary grating patterns (of the optimum spatial frequency and orientation) were presented at 8 different spatial phase/positions, each separated by 45°, and at 10 different levels of contrast (in linear increments), making a total of 80 unique combinations of phase and contrast. Each unique combination was turned on (flashed) for 200 ms and then turned off for 300 ms, with a minimum of 40 (and a maximum of 80) repeated presentations. (During the 300-ms interval, when the stationary grating was turned off, the animal viewed the mean luminance.) The stimuli were presented in a counterbalanced fashion such that all stimulus conditions occurred an equal number of times, in a random order. The range of contrasts (starting at 0%) was chosen to include the cell's dynamic region as well as the cell's saturated region, both of which can vary from cell to cell. Presenting the grating in eight different spatial phase/positions ensures that 1) the space average luminance remains equivalent throughout the course of the experiment over the entire receptive field, 2) both optimal and nonoptimal spatial positions are sampled, and 3) many different regions of the receptive field are sampled with different luminance increments and decrements.

Assessing goodness of fit

To assess goodness of fit, we indexed the percentage of the variation in the data that was accounted for, using the following standard procedure. First, we computed the sum of the squared deviations from the mean (the "total variation"). Second, we computed the sum of the squared deviations between the data and the predictions (the "residual variation"). Finally, we subtracted the residual variation from the total variation, divided the result by the total variation, and multiplied this ratio by 100 to express the variance accounted for as a percentage of the total variation.

Analysis of the variation in the PSTHs at different spatial positions

We have shown that the amplitude of the response as a function of contrast is similar in shape at different spatial phases when the stimulus is a counterphase flickering grating (Albrecht and Geisler 1991, 1994). In this report, we will demonstrate the same basic fact when the stimulus is a stationary flashed grating (see Figs. 11-13). Because the primary focus of this study was the temporal dynamics of the contrast response function of the receptive field as a whole, the responses at the different spatial locations were averaged together, for a given level of contrast. It is well known that there is variation in the amplitude of the PSTH at different spatial positions, particularly for simple cells (e.g., Albrecht and Geisler 1991; De Valois et al. 1982; Movshon et al. 1978). Using stationary flashed gratings, it has also been demonstrated that PSTHs of both simple and complex cells can show variations with spatial phase (Victor and Purpura 1998). Given that we are averaging the PSTHs across all of the spatial positions (for a given level of contrast), we performed a preliminary analysis to assess the degree of any systematic variation in the overall shape of the PSTHs at the different spatial positions.

To accomplish this goal, we determined what percentage of the variation in the shape of the PSTHs, at the different positions, could not be accounted for by the average across all of the positions. We also determined what percentage of the residual variation was a consequence of systematic variation as opposed to the stochastic variation inherent in the responses of cortical neurons. Specifically, we took the average PSTH and determined the scale factor (for the amplitude of the PSTH) that was required to fit the average of the eight positions to each of the eight positions. We then determined what percentage of the variation across all eight positions could be accounted for by simply scaling the amplitude of the average for each position. Finally, we determined what would be expected by chance alone (i.e., by stochastic variation).¹

We found that approximately two-thirds of the cells did show systematic residual variation (at the 0.01 level) that was not accounted for by the average PSTH or by chance alone. However, this systematic residual variation was relatively small. The median value was 4.2%; 8 of the 50 neurons showed a value larger than 10%; 2 showed a value larger than 20%; the largest value was 24%. There were no obvious trends across cell type or animal type. As might be expected, among the 15 simple cells there was a small positive correlation ( = 0.35) between the systematic residual variation and the direction selectivity (but it was not significant, P = 0.1). Based on this preliminary analysis, it therefore seemed reasonable to average the responses across spatial phase.

	RESULTS

TOP ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION APPENDIX REFERENCES

PSTH as a function of contrast

We measured and analyzed the responses of 26 neurons recorded from the cat visual cortex and 24 neurons recorded from the monkey visual cortex. Figure 1A shows the responses of a neuron (a complex cell recorded from the visual cortex of a monkey) through time, for 10 levels of contrast. The stimulus was an optimal stationary grating pattern, which was turned on for 200 ms and then turned off for 300 ms. The 10 different levels of contrast (spanning 0-90% in linear increments) and the eight different spatial phase positions (separated by 45°) resulted in 80 unique stimulus configurations. Each of these 80 stimulus configurations was presented on 40 different occasions. The PSTH at any given contrast is the average across the eight spatial phases and the 40 repetitions at each spatial phase (i.e., the average of 320 stimulus presentations). For ease of viewing the differences between the PSTHs as function of time and contrast, the responses in the running 10-ms time bins (which are evaluated every millisecond; see METHODS) are only plotted at 4-ms intervals, and only 100 ms of the response is shown.

View larger version (39K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Responses of 3 cells, plotted as a function of time and contrast. The stimulus was a stationary grating presented for a brief interval. Ten different levels of contrast were presented in 8 different spatial phases. Each unique contrast and phase combination was presented on 40 separate occasions in a random fashion. The responses at a given level of contrast were averaged across the 40 repetitions and the 8 spatial phases. As noted in METHODS, the range of contrasts (starting at 0%) was chosen to include the cell's dynamic region as well as the cell's saturated region, both of which can vary from cell to cell. A: responses measured from a monkey complex cell: poststimulus time histograms (PSTHs) are plotted for 10 different levels of contrast. Each point is the average response that occurred within a running 10-ms time bin, plotted every 4 ms. Each set of connecting ascending points () plots the responses at increasing levels of contrast, from 0 to 90% in linear increments. Although the duration of the stationary stimulus was 200 ms, the response of the cell is only plotted from 50 to 150 ms after stimulus onset, for ease of viewing the changes that occur during this interval. Note that the shapes of the PSTHs are qualitatively similar across the contrasts and that as contrast decreases the PSTHs scale downward and shift rightward. B: the responses shown in A are plotted as a function of contrast for 6 different time intervals during the course of the PSTH, following the onset of the stimulus: 58 (), 62 (), 70 (), 78 (), 86 (), and 102 ms (×). Note that although the shapes of the contrast response functions are different for each time interval, the response expansion can be seen at all of the different time intervals and response saturation can be seen at all of the different time intervals, except for the first, at 58 ms (). C and D: same conventions as in the preceding text for a second cell, a monkey simple cell. The 6 contrast response functions were sampled at: 38 (), 42 (), 50 (), 58 (), 66 (), and 82 ms (×). The same basic pattern of results is evident, with a few variations: the latency of the response from stimulus onset to response onset is smaller (circa 30 vs. 50 ms for the highest contrast), the magnitude of the response in the tail (the sustained plateau) is smaller (circa 10 vs. 20%), and the decline in the response occurs somewhat sooner. However, response expansion and response saturation are present within the first 10-20 ms after the onset of the response. E and F: same conventions as in the preceding text for a third cell, a monkey complex cell. The 6 contrast response functions were sampled at 50 (), 54 (), 62 (), 70 (), 78 (), and 94 ms (×). Once again, the same basic pattern of results is evident.

As can be seen, the responses through time (illustrated in Fig. 1A) are systematic as a function of contrast. Further, the overall shape of the temporal response profile (i.e., the PSTH) appears to be qualitatively similar across contrast and can be described as follows: the response increases from the spontaneous level of firing to the peak very rapidly and then gradually falls back toward the spontaneous level, reaching a rather sustained plateau. Finally, note that as the contrast decreases, the temporal response profile scales downward and shifts rightward (i.e., the amplitude of the response decreases and the latency of the response increases).

Figure 1B plots the responses from the same cell as a function of contrast at six time intervals during the course of the temporal response: 58 (), 62 (), 70 (), 78 (), 86 (), and 102 ms (×). As can be seen, response expansion (evident in the accelerating response at low contrasts) is apparent within every time interval, and response saturation (at high contrasts) can be seen in every time interval, except the first (). Note, however, that when plotted in this fashion, the shape of the contrast response function changes through time (cf. Fig. 2B). Figure 1, C and D, shows the same measurements for a monkey simple cell. For this neuron, the range of contrasts spanned 0-80%. The contrast response functions were sampled at six time intervals following the onset of the stimulus: 38 (), 42 (), 50 (), 58 (), 66 (), and 82 ms (×). Figure 1, E and F, shows the same measurements for another monkey complex cell. For this neuron, the range of contrasts spanned 0-30%. The contrast response functions were sampled at six time intervals: 50 (), 54 (), 62 (), 70 (), 78 (), and 94 ms (×). The overall pattern of results is very similar for all three cells: the shapes of the PSTH appear similar at the different levels of contrast; however, as the contrast decreases, the PSTH scales downward and shifts rightward.

View larger version (39K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Responses as a function of time and contrast for the same 3 cells illustrated in Fig. 1. A: the same set of PSTHs shown in Fig. 1A is plotted. Smooth curves through the data points show the average PSTH (averaged across all of the levels of contrast). The average was simultaneously scaled vertically (in amplitude) and shifted horizontally (in time). For ease of viewing, the time shifts rightward have been removed such that the PSTHs are aligned across all of the different levels of contrast. B: the responses shown in A plot the contrast response function at 6 different time intervals, relative to the onset of the response at each level of contrast. The time intervals and symbols are the same as those given in Fig. 1. Smooth curves through the data points show the best fit of a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation for each of the different time intervals in the PSTHs: All of the curves have exactly the same shape and are only different by a response amplitude scale factor; that is, the parameters that determine the shape of the function (the half-saturation contrast and the exponent) are identical across the different time intervals (and only the maximum response is free to vary). For this cell, the value of the expansive exponent was 3.1 and the value of the half-saturation contrast was 29.6%. C and D: same conventions as in the preceding text for a second cell, the cell shown in Fig. 1, C and D. The time intervals for the 6 contrast response functions (and the symbols for these intervals) are the same as those given in Fig. 1. As can be seen, the same basic pattern of results is evident, with a few variations. The expansive exponent for this cell was 1.6 and the half-saturation contrast was 16.3%. E and F: same conventions as in the preceding text for a third cell, the cell shown in Fig. 1, E and F. Once again, the same basic pattern of results is evident. The expansive exponent for this cell was 2.4 and the half-saturation contrast was 21.0%. Note that for all 3 neurons, the 2 nonlinearities are present throughout all of the time intervals, even the very first time interval, which occurs less than 10 ms after the onset of the response.

Average PSTH as a function of contrast: scaled and shifted

As noted in the previous paragraph, the shape of the temporal response profile appears to be qualitatively similar across contrast. Further, as contrast decreases, the profile appears to scale downward and shift rightward. To evaluate quantitatively the similarity of the temporal response profiles at the different levels of contrast, we measured the percentage of the variation that could be accounted for by simply scaling and shifting the average PSTH. Figure 2A shows the results for the same set of measurements illustrated in Fig. 1A: the solid line through each PSTH is the average PSTH after scaling and shifting. For ease of viewing, the time shifts have been removed so that the PSTHs are aligned across all of the different levels of contrast. Thus the onset of the response, the peak, the decline after the peak, the plateau, and so forth, all occur at the same time. (Note that the values of the scalar and the values of the time shift provide estimates of the effect of contrast on the amplitude and the latency of the response, respectively.)

Figure 2B plots the responses as a function of contrast at six time intervals within the PSTHs shown in Fig. 2A. As in Fig. 1B, the six contrast response functions were sampled at the following time intervals: 58 (), 62 (), 70 (), 78 (), 86 (), and 102 ms (×). As can be seen, when plotted with respect to the onset of the response at each level of contrast, the overall shape of the contrast response function appears to be very similar for these six time intervals. This is, of course, exactly what one would expect if the shape of the temporal response profile is relatively invariant as a function of contrast. The smooth curves through the data points, which show the fits of the Naka-Rushton equation (see APPENDIX), quantitatively demonstrate that the shapes are similar at the six time intervals: The expansive exponent and the half-saturation contrast are identical across the curves, and only the maximum response at each level of contrast was allowed to vary. Further, the data points and the curves demonstrate that the expansive response exponent and the contrast-set gain control are fully and equivalently expressed at all the time intervals, even within the first 10 ms after the onset of the response. Figure 2, C-F, illustrates the same analysis for the other two neurons shown in Fig. 1. Figure 3 shows the same type of analysis performed on three neurons recorded from the cat visual cortex.

View larger version (39K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Responses as a function of time and contrast for 3 cells measured from within the cat's visual cortex. The analysis and the conventions are the same as those described for Fig. 2. Smooth curves through the PSTHs show the scaled and shifted average PSTH. Smooth curves through the PSTHs show the parameter-optimized fit of a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation. The time bins are 2 ms in A and C and 4 ms in E. In B, the 6 contrast response functions were sampled at the following time intervals: 46 (), 48 (), 52 (), 56 (), 60 (), and 68 ms (×). The expansive exponent and the half-saturation contrast for the Naka-Rushton equation are 2.4 and 7.0%, respectively. In D, the contrast response functions were sampled at the following time intervals: 40 (), 42 (), 46 (), 50 (), 54 (), and 62 ms (×). The expansive exponent and the half-saturation contrast for the Naka-Rushton equation are 2.2 and 24.0%, respectively. In F, the contrast response functions were sampled at the following time intervals: 46 (), 50 (), 58 (), 66 (), 74 (), and 90 (×). The expansive exponent and the half-saturation contrast for the Naka-Rushton equation are 1.6 and 33.0%, respectively. The overall pattern of results for these 3 neurons recorded from the cat visual cortex is similar to the pattern of results (illustrated in Fig. 2) for the 3 neurons recorded from the monkey visual cortex.

For the cells shown in Fig. 2, A, C, and E, scaling and shifting the average PSTH accounts for 99, 99, and 98% of the variation in the responses, respectively. For the cells shown in Fig. 3, A, C, and E, scaling and shifting the average PSTH accounts for 98, 98, and 95% of the variation in the responses, respectively. Overall, the pattern of results is very similar for these six neurons. The temporal response profiles are reasonably well fitted by simply scaling and shifting the average profile. The results of this analysis indicate that the shape of the temporal response profile remains relatively invariant with contrast.

As noted, the smooth curves in the righthand panels of Figs. 2 and 3 show the best fit of a single Naka-Rushton equation with a different amplitude scale factor for each time interval. This amounts to an eight-parameter equation: the exponent, the half-saturation, and six scale factors. (Note that the spontaneous discharge is measured at 0% contrast and therefore it is not a free parameter in the fitting process.) If a unique/independent Naka-Rushton equation is fitted to the responses as a function of contrast for each time interval separately, the number of parameters increases from 8 to 18: 3 for each of the six time intervals. As can be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the eight-parameter equation captures a large percentage of the variation in the data. When the 18 parameters are free to vary, the increase in the variance accounted for is rather modest. For the cell shown in 2B, the value increases from 99.5 to 99.8%; for the cell shown in 2D, the value increases from 99.0 to 99.2%; for the cell shown in 2F, the value increases from 98.9 to 99.6%.

Across the population as a whole (50 cells), the average percentage of variation that is accounted for by a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation is 94.7%± 0.61% (mean ± SD); the median value is 95.5. In comparison, the mean value for the 18 parameter equation is 95.9 ± 0.49%; the median value is 96.9%. This comparison suggests that the eight-parameter equation provides a reasonably good fit to the responses for all of the cells. This analysis indicates that the contrast response function is relatively invariant throughout the temporal response.

Diversity in the shapes of the PSTHs

Although the shapes of the temporal response profiles illustrated in Figs. 1-3 are representative of many cells, there are some cells that have shapes that are quite different. Figure 4 illustrates the diversity in the shapes that we encountered within the sample of monkey cells. The profiles were grouped into 12 arbitrary categories (shown in each panel) based on a qualitative visual evaluation of similarity. The number of cells within each category is given within each panel, and the panels are organized from top to bottom and left to right based upon the number within each category. Thus for example, the profiles illustrated in A-F are similar to the profiles illustrated in Figs. 1-3: There is a rapid rise in the response to a peak and then a more gradual decline to a sustained plateau. The cells in A-E are sorted primarily on the basis of the magnitude of the plateau. The cells illustrated in C are separated from those in B because of the small amplitude oscillations on the sustained plateau. For the cells illustrated in F, there is no sustained plateau; further, the rise and decline around the peak are approximately symmetric. The cells illustrated in G-L are considerably more heterogeneous and, as indicated by the counts in each panel, they occurred less frequently in the sample.

View larger version (35K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Average PSTH shapes for 12 neurons recorded from the monkey visual cortex illustrating the diversity and complexity in the shapes of the PSTHs within this sample of neurons. Note that the PSTH for any given cell is the average of 3,200 stimulus presentations (10 contrasts, 8 spatial phases, and 40 repetitions for each unique combination of contrast and spatial phase). The cells were grouped into 12 arbitrary categories based on a qualitative visual inspection of the similarity in the shapes. The number in each panel indicates the number of cells that fall into that "shape category." As can be seen, although the shapes for many of the cells (e.g., the cells shown in A-F) are similar to the shapes illustrated in Figs. 1-3, the shapes for some of the cells are quite different (e.g., the cells shown in G-L). Overall, there is considerable diversity in the shapes of the PSTHs.

Figure 5 illustrates the diversity in the shapes of the temporal profiles that we encountered within the sample of cat cells. As can be seen, although there is a good deal of overlap between the shapes we measured in the cats versus the monkeys, the variety of shapes within the cat sample seems even more diverse. There appear to be some obvious qualitative similarities and differences between the cat and monkey profiles; however, given the diversity that we observed in the shapes (particularly within the cat cells), it might be necessary to perform these measurements on a very large sample of cells before drawing any firm conclusions. Nonetheless, consider the following observations: 1) the profiles illustrated in 5A are very similar to the shapes illustrated in 4A. 2) The shapes illustrated in 5F are very similar to the shapes illustrated in 4F and so forth. And 3) on the other hand, the cat cells shown in H, I, and L had no obvious counterparts in the monkey sample.

View larger version (36K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Average PSTH shapes for 12 neurons recorded from the cat visual cortex illustrating the diversity and complexity in the shapes of the PSTHs within this sample of neurons. As noted in the preceding text, the PSTH for any given cell is the average of 3,200 stimulus presentations. As in Fig. 4, the cells were grouped into 12 categories based on a qualitative visual inspection of the similarity in the shapes. The number in each panel indicates the number of cells that fall into that "shape category." Again, there is considerable diversity.

Figure 6 shows the responses as a function of time and contrast for three cells with more complex and unusual profiles in comparison to the cells illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The cell shown in A illustrates what might be termed "secondary oscillations." The neuron begins responding at approximately 30 ms (after the onset of the stimulus), and the response rapidly increases to a maximum at approximately 50 ms. The response rapidly declines to a trough at approximately 80 ms and then rises again to a secondary peak (with an amplitude that is almost half the value of the 1st peak) at approximately 110 ms. The response then trails off to a relatively sustained plateau that remains larger than the response at the initial trough, even at 190 ms. The cell shown in C begins responding approximately 45 ms after stimulus onset. The response rapidly increases to a peak at approximately 75 ms and then declines to a trough (that is only slightly larger than the spontaneous discharge) at approximately 130 ms. After this low point the response begins to increase once again.

View larger version (45K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Responses for 3 neurons with PSTHs that are somewhat more complex and diverse than those shown in Figs. 1-3 to illustrate that even with the complex shapes the PSTHs are relatively invariant as a function of contrast. The analysis and the conventions are the same as those described for Figs. 2 and 3. The time bins for the PSTHs are plotted every 4 ms. A: PSTHs from cat visual cortex measured as a function of contrast. Smooth curves through data points show the scaled and shifted average PSTH. B: contrast response functions sampled (from the PSTHs shown in A) at the following time intervals: 38 (), 42 (), 50 (), 58 (), 66 (), and 82 ms (×). The smooth curves through the contrast response functions show the fit of a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation. The exponent and the half-saturation contrast for the Naka-Rushton equation are 1.8 and 46.0%, respectively. C: PSTHs from monkey visual cortex measured as a function of contrast. D: contrast response functions sampled (from the PSTHs shown in C) at the following time intervals: 62 (), 66 (), 74 (), 82 (), 90 (), and 106 ms (×). The exponent and the half-saturation contrast for the Naka-Rushton equation are 1.2 and 53.0%, respectively. E: PSTHs from cat visual cortex measured as a function of contrast. F: contrast response functions sampled (from the PSTHs shown in E) at the following time intervals: 50 (), 54 (), 62 (), 70 (), 78 (), and 182 ms (×). The exponent and the half-saturation contrast for the Naka-Rushton equation are 2.1 and 22.0%, respectively.

The analysis illustrated here is the same as in Figs. 1-3. As can be seen, the average temporal response profile (scaled and shifted) provides a reasonably good description of the basic trends in the responses even for those cells that have profiles with more complex shapes. For the cell shown in A, the percentage of the variance accounted for by the average profile is 97.0; for the cell shown in C, the percentage is 97.2; and, for the cell shown in E, the percentage is 97.1. Nonetheless, there are some deviations from the average profile that appear to be systematic. For example, in A, the responses during the initial rise and decline appear to undershoot (by a small amount) the average profile at lower contrasts and overshoot the average at higher contrasts. On the other hand, the responses during the second rise and decline undershoot the average profile at higher contrasts. Further, in E, the shape of the temporal response clearly changes as the contrast increases: At higher contrasts there is a pronounced dip in the response at approximately 80 ms and then a secondary oscillation that peaks at approximately 120 ms. (Such oscillations were first noted by Tolhurst et al. 1980.) This pattern of results is not apparent in the responses at the lower contrasts and thus at 80 ms into the temporal response (i.e., at the dip), the average profile overshoots the responses at higher contrasts and undershoots the responses at lower contrasts.

Figure 6B shows the corresponding contrast response functions (for the responses illustrated in A) at several time intervals. The smooth curves show the fit of a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation (with the same exponent and half-saturation contrast). As can be seen, the shape of the contrast response function is relatively invariant throughout the time course of the temporal response. The single scaled function accounts for approximately 98% of the variation in the responses. If a separate Naka-Rushton equation is fitted to each contrast response function, the percentage of the variance accounted for only increases by approximately 1%. Figure 6, D and F show the comparable analysis for the cells shown in C and E, respectively. Once again, a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation accounts for approximately 98% of the variation, thus indicating that the shape of the contrast response function is relatively invariant through time even for cells with temporal response profiles that are more complex than those shown in Figs. 1-3.

Figure 7 shows the percentage of the variation that can be accounted for by scaling and shifting the average temporal response profile for the entire sample of cells. This histogram shows that the average profile for each cell provides a reasonably good description of the responses as a function of time and contrast. The percentage is more than 90% for 43 of the 50 cells, with the lowest value being 86%. The mean value is 94 ± 3.8%; the median value is 95%. The high values of this index show that the responses through time are relatively invariant as a function of contrast. Note that the cells with the lower percentages do not reveal any obvious systematic variations in the temporal response profile as a function of contrast; instead, the low percentages appear to be more related to the stochastic properties of the cells, given the low firing rates and the high variance proportionality constants.

View larger version (21K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 7. Histogram showing the percentage of the variation accounted for by the average PSTH (scaled and shifted as a function of contrast) for the entire sample of cells.

The results of these measurements and analyses indicate that the contrast response function remains relatively invariant as a function of time, even for those cells that have other types of complex temporal dynamics in the responses as a function of time (e.g., those cells with unusual and complex shaped PSTHs, with multiple oscillations).

Correlation between the time to peak and the width of the PSTH

Visual inspection of the temporal response profiles illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 5, and 6 reveal a trend across the population as a whole (see also Fig. 18): There is a positive correlation between the time to the peak of the response and the width of the profile. Figure 8 shows a scatter plot that illustrates this trend: Width at half-height is plotted along the vertical axis and time to the peak of the response is plotted on the horizontal axis. The positive correlation is clear; the slope of the best fitting straight line (shown in the figure) is 1.06. (Note that 6 of the cells are not plotted because their responses did not decrease to half of the maximum response, even after 200 ms.) The reason for this correlation remains unclear; further experimentation would be required to explore this phenomenon. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that there are hypothetical mechanisms that could potentially account for this type of behavior. For example, increasing the number of low-pass filters in a cascade would produce a correlation between the width and the latency.

View larger version (20K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 8. Scatter plot showing the relationship between the width of the average PSTH and the time to the peak of the average PSTH. As can be seen, there is a clear trend. The slope of the best fitting straight line was very close to 1.0.

First 16 ms after the onset of the response: 2-ms time bins

Figure 9 shows the growth of the response of a monkey neuron as a function of the contrast of a stationary grating during the first 16 ms of the neuron's response: Each set of data points plots the responses in sequential 2-ms time bins after the onset of the response. The sequential order of the symbols is as follows: (), (), (), and () with - - -, and (), (), (), and () with . For example,  connected by - - - plot the response of the cell during the first 2 ms, and  connected by  plot the response of the cell during the last 2 ms (of the 16-ms time period). Note that in comparison to the responses obtained with the 10-ms running average, the responses obtained with nonoverlapping 2-ms time bins are more variable. Nonetheless, the pattern of results is systematic because the responses are the average of 320 presentations.

View larger version (20K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 9. Responses of a complex cell, recorded from the visual cortex of a monkey, as a function of the contrast of a stationary grating (presented for 200 ms) during a 16-ms time interval (in sequential 2-ms time bins) at the very beginning of the onset of the response. Each data point plots the average response in a 2-ms time bin (averaged over the 8 different spatial phases and the 40 repetitions at each spatial phase, for a total of 320 unique stimulus presentations at each contrast for each 2-ms time bin). The basic analysis is similar to the analysis illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 6 (see related text) except for the size of the time bins (2 ms) and the duration of the analysis interval (16 ms). The smooth curves through each set of data points plot the fit of a single Naka-Rushton equation, scaled for response amplitude. The sequential order of the symbols is as follows: 2 (), 4 (), 6 (), 8 () connected by - - -, 10 (), 12 (), 14(), 16 ms () connected by . Note that all of the curves have the same exponent and the same half-saturation contrast. These results suggest that contrast-set gain control and the expansive response exponent are both present at the onset of a striate cell's response.

The smooth curves through the data points plot the fit of a single Naka-Rushton function with the same expansive response exponent (3.1) and the same half-saturation contrast (31.0%); only the maximum response was allowed to vary. As can be seen, this single scaled Naka-Rushton equation provides a good fit to the responses across all of the 2-ms time bins. The fit is based upon 10 parameters: the exponent, the half-saturation, and 8 amplitude scale factors. (As noted in the preceding text, the spontaneous discharge is measured at 0% contrast and therefore it is not a free parameter in the fitting process.) If a unique/independent Naka-Rushton equation is fitted to the responses as a function of contrast for each time interval separately, the number of parameters increases from 10 to 24: 3 for each of the 8 time intervals. The 10-parameter fit accounts for 96% of the variation, whereas the 24-parameter fit accounts for 97%.

View larger version (34K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 10. Responses of 6 neurons as a function of the contrast of a stationary grating at the very beginning of the onset of the response: 8 sequential 2-ms bins. The conventions are the same as those described for Fig. 9. Left: panels plot the responses of neurons recorded from the cat visual cortex; right: panels plot the responses of neurons recorded from the monkey visual cortex. As can be seen, the trends are very similar to those described for Fig. 9. The single scaled Naka-Rushton equation provides a good fit to the contrast response function throughout the first 16 ms. The percentage of the variation accounted for by the single scaled Naka-Rushton equation was 97, 97, 90, 95, 96, and 95% for A-F, respectively. If a unique/independent Naka-Rushton equation is fitted to the responses as a function of contrast for each time interval separately, the percentage of the variation accounted for increases to 98, 98, 93, 97, 98, and 96 for A-F, respectively. Again, these observations suggest that contrast-set gain control and the expansive response exponent are both present at the onset of a striate cell's response.

Figure 10 shows the same analysis applied to six additional neurons. The three panels on the left (A, C, and E) plot the responses of three cat neurons; the three panels on the right (B, D, and F) plot the responses of three monkey neurons. C and D plot the responses of two simple cells; the other four panels plot the responses of complex cells. The sequential order of the symbols and fitted curves is the same as the order described for Fig. 9. As can be seen, the overall trend for these six neurons is similar to the trend described for the cell shown in Fig. 9.

Across a sample of 22 neurons, the 10-parameter fit accounts for 92.9% of the variation; the 24-parameter fit accounts for 94.2%. (The 2-ms time bins were so small that the resulting low signal-to-noise ratio precluded performing the analysis on all of the cells.) In sum, this analysis of the first 16 ms suggests that the nonlinear characteristics of the contrast response function are present as soon as the cell responds.

Response amplitude: optimal and nonoptimal spatial phases

Figures 1-3, 6, 9, and 10 demonstrate that the response saturation and all of the other gain related scaling that occurs throughout the entire contrast response function are fully present within 10 ms after the onset of the response. Further, the saturation and other gain related changes appear to occur at the same contrast throughout the entire time course of the response. Specifically, the responses as a function of contrast are well fitted by a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation, with the same half-saturation contrast and response exponent, for all times during the response. Therefore if the responses are summed across the entire 200 ms of the PSTH, the responses as a function of contrast must be well fitted by the same, scaled Naka-Rushton equation. These facts suggest that the response saturation and other gain changes apparent throughout the entire temporal response, including the first 10 ms, are the same type of contrast-set gain changes that have been extensively studied over the past 20 years (see references in the INTRODUCTION). If so, then the scaling and saturation should be determined only by the magnitude of the contrast, independent of the magnitude of the response.

In order to provide a more direct assessment of this hypothesis, we evaluated the amplitude of the response as a function of contrast during the first 20 ms after the onset of the response for 1) a grating positioned at an optimal spatial phase and 2) a grating positioned at a nonoptimal spatial phase. The logic of this analysis has been described in detail elsewhere (e.g., Albrecht and Geisler 1991; Albrecht and Hamilton 1982; Bonds 1991; Carandini et al. 1997; Geisler and Albrecht 1997; Heeger 1991, 1992a; Sclar and Freeman 1982; for general reviews, see Albrecht and Geisler 1994; Albrecht et al. 2002; Carandini et al. 1999; Geisler and Albrecht 2000). In brief, if the scaling and saturation are determined by the contrast, then the two contrast response functions should have the same shape and half-saturation contrast, but they should have different maximum firing rates. On the other hand, if the scaling and saturation are determined by the response, then the two contrast response functions should have different shapes (in linear coordinates) and the same maximum firing rates, but they should have different half-saturation contrasts (cf. Figs. 7 and 9; see also related discussion in Albrecht and Hamilton 1982 and Fig. 9 and related discussion in Albrecht and Geisler 1991).

Figure 11 shows the results of this analysis for 12 neurons. Each panel plots the amplitude of the response as a function of contrast, during the first 20 ms, for a stationary grating that was presented at an optimal and a nonoptimal spatial phase. The smooth curves in each panel plot the best fitting Naka-Rushton equation, with the same response exponent and half-saturation contrast; only the maximum response (an amplitude scale factor) was free to vary. As can be seen, the responses as a function of contrast for the optimal and the nonoptimal stimuli appear to be scaled versions of the same contrast response function.

View larger version (35K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 11. The amplitude of the response (during the first 20 ms after the onset of the response) as a function of the contrast of a stationary grating that is presented (for 200 ms) at an optimal spatial phase () and a nonoptimal spatial phase () for 12 neurons. The cells shown in the top 6 panels were recorded from the monkey visual cortex; the cells shown in the bottom 6 panels were recorded from the cat visual cortex. The smooth curves through the data points show the best fit of a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation: The curves for the two phase positions for each cell have the same exponent and half-saturation contrast, and only differ by a response amplitude scale factor.

This analysis was performed on a total 23 neurons. For these cells, a single scaled Naka-Rushton equation accounted for 97% of the variation (on average) in the responses as a function of contrast. If the responses for the optimal and nonoptimal phase are fitted with two unique Naka-Rushton equations, the percentage of the variation that is accounted for is improved by less than 1%. (The analysis could not be performed on the entire sample of 50 neurons because many of the complex cells showed little or no variation with spatial phase.) These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the scaling and saturation are set by the magnitude of the contrast and not by the magnitude of the response.

An alternative method for comparing and quantifying the similarity of the shapes and half-saturation contrasts of the contrast response function is to plot the responses for the optimal phase on the horizontal axis and the nonoptimal phase on the vertical axis. If the shapes and half-saturation contrasts are similar, then the responses should cluster around a straight line through the origin. Figure 12 shows the results of this analysis for the 12 neurons illustrated in Fig. 11; the solid line in each panel shows the best fitting straight line though the origin. These cells illustrate that the shape of the contrast response function is quite similar at the optimal and the nonoptimal spatial phase. This observation indicates that the saturation occurs at the same contrast, even though the response magnitude is quite different at that contrast. In other words, the saturation nonlinearity (which is apparent within the first 20 ms of the response) is determined by the magnitude of the contrast and not the magnitude of the response.

View larger version (29K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 12. Scatter plots showing the responses to the optimal spatial phase along the horizontal axis and the responses to the nonoptimal spatial phase along the vertical axis for 12 neurons. These cells are the same 12 cells (and the same responses) shown in Fig. 11. The best fitting linear relationship is shown in each panel.

Finally, if the responses to the nonoptimal stimulus are scaled by simply dividing the y coordinate of each data point by the slope of the best fitting straight line, it is then possible to plot all of the responses for all of the cells on the same scatter plot. The results of this analysis for all of the responses from all 23 cells are shown in Fig. 13. As can be seen, the responses to the optimal and nonoptimal stimuli cluster around the unity line. This observation indicates that the shape of the contrast response function is similar at both the optimal and the nonoptimal spatial phase and that the saturation occurs at the same contrast for the optimal and nonoptimal stimuli, even though the response magnitude is different. In sum, the results of these measurements and these analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that the scaling and saturation during the first 20 ms are set by the magnitude of the contrast, independent of the magnitude of the response.

View larger version (25K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 13. Scatter plot showing the responses to the optimal spatial phase along the horizontal axis and the responses to the nonoptimal spatial phase along the vertical axis (scaled to unity) for 23 neurons subjected to the same analysis described for Fig. 12. The responses of each cell to the nonoptimal spatial phase were then divided by the slope of the best fitting straight line. This division scales the responses to unity so that all of the responses for all of the cells in the sample can be plotted on the same graph.

Response latency: optimal and nonoptimal spatial phases

Figure 1 illustrates that as the contrast decreases, the temporal response profile shifts rightward in time. This shift in the response latency could potentially be a consequence of either the response magnitude or the contrast magnitude. Previous studies of the phase transfer function of simple cells have shown that as the contrast increases, the phase of the response advances, and that this advance depends upon the magnitude of the contrast as opposed to the magnitude of the response (Albrecht 1978, 1995; Carandini and Heeger 1994; Carandini et al. 1997). It seems likely that the shifts in latency demonstrated in the present experiments (for both complex cells and simple cells) also depend upon the magnitude of the contrast (see also Gawne et al. 1996; Reich et al. 2001; Richmond et al. 1997).

To provide a direct assessment of this hypothesis, we measured the latency shifts for 1) a grating that was positioned at an optimal spatial phase and 2) a grating that was positioned at a nonoptimal spatial phase. In both cases, the variations in the magnitude of the contrast are identical; however, the variations in the magnitude of the response are quite different. If the latency shift is determined by the magnitude of the contrast, then the shifts should be similar for the optimal and the nonoptimal phase. On the other hand, if the latency shift is determined by the magnitude of the response, then the magnitude of the shift should be larger for the optimal stimulus. Figure 14 shows the results of this analysis for the same 12 neurons shown in Figs. 11-13. The  plot the response latencies for the optimal phase and the  plot the latencies for the nonoptimal phase; the solid line shows the fit of a single inverted Naka-Rushton equation (which has been shown to provide a good fit to the latency shift that occurs as a function of contrast; see Albrecht 1995).

View larger version (30K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 14. The latency of the response as a function of the contrast of a stationary grating that is presented at an optimal and a nonoptimal spatial phase for the same 12 neurons and the same set of measurements illustrated in Figs. 11-13. These response latencies are the values of the rightward shifts of the average PSTH (see for example Fig. 2 and related text). , the response latencies for the optimal stimulus; , the response latencies for the nonoptimal stimulus. , the fit of a single inverted Naka-Rushton equation, which has been shown to provide a good fit to the latency shift that occurs as a function of contrast (cf. Albrecht 1995).

As can be seen, the latency shifts as a function of contrast are very similar for both the optimal and the nonoptimal phase, even though the magnitude of the response is quite different (cf. Fig. 11). Thus a single inverted Naka-Rushton equation provides a good fit to the latency shifts for both the optimal and the nonoptimal stimulus. This observation indicates that the latency shift is induced by the magnitude of the contrast and not the magnitude of the response. Figure 15 shows the response latencies for all 23 neurons. The response latency for the optimal phase is plotted along the horizontal axis and the response latency for the nonoptimal phase is plotted along the vertical axis. If the latencies are the same for optimal and nonoptimal phases, then the latencies should cluster around a diagonal line through the origin with a slope of 1.0. The solid line shows the best fitting straight line passing through the origin; this indicates that the response latencies at the different levels of contrast are similar for the optimal and nonoptimal stimuli even though the response amplitudes for the two stimuli are quite different.

View larger version (22K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 15. Scatter plot showing the response latencies (at different levels of contrast) for the optimal and nonoptimal spatial phases for all 23 neurons. The response latencies for the optimal stimulus are plotted along the horizontal axis and the response latencies for the nonoptimal stimulus are plotted along the vertical axis. The straight line shows the best fitting linear relationship. The slope of this line is 0.96.

The results of these measurements and these analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that the shifts in the latency are determined by the magnitude of the contrast independent of the magnitude of the response.

Not all cells show nonlinear contrast response characteristics

It is important to note that not all of the cells that one finds in the striate cortex have a nonlinear contrast response function. In particular, not all of the cells have an expansive response exponent and not all of the cells saturate at higher contrasts. For example, a small fraction of the cells in this study (approximately 5%) demonstrated a nearly linear relationship between the magnitude of the response and the magnitude of the contrast.² This percentage is very similar to the percentage of linear contrast response functions reported in the past (Albrecht and Hamilton 1982; Sclar et al. 1990).

	DISCUSSION

TOP ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION APPENDIX REFERENCES

Contrast response nonlinearities: temporal dynamics

The primary goal of the present set of experiments was to measure the temporal dynamics of the contrast response function. We were particularly interested in the dynamics of two nonlinear characteristics of cortical neurons, contrast-set gain control and response expansion. There is a substantial literature (see INTRODUCTION) providing evidence for a contrast-set gain control mechanism (a contrast normalization) that maintains stimulus selectivity despite the limited response range of cortical neurons, and a response expansion mechanism (an accelerating nonlinearity, e.g., half-squaring) that sharpens the stimulus selectivity of cortical neurons. Most of the evidence for these mechanisms derives from measurements that used extended (steady-state) stimulus presentations. However, it is important to measure the temporal dynamics over short time intervals because under many circumstances, the retinal stimulus changes frequently due to eye movements; for example, during saccadic inspection, the average duration of a fixation is approximately 200 ms. In general, the local retinal contrast and spatial pattern can vary greatly from one fixation to the next, and hence, the contrast-set gain control and response expansion mechanisms must operate very quickly if they are to maintain and enhance selectivity during any single f