JN Track the topics, authors and articles important to you
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


J Neurophysiol (May 4, 2005). doi:10.1152/jn.01224.2004
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
94/2/1336    most recent
01224.2004v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (9)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Moore IV, B. D
Right arrow Articles by Usrey, W. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Moore IV, B. D
Right arrow Articles by Usrey, W. M.
Submitted on December 1, 2004
Accepted on April 28, 2005

Orientation tuning, but not direction selectivity, is invariant to temporal frequency in primary visual cortex

Bartlett D Moore IV1, Henry J Alitto1, and W. Martin Usrey1*

1 Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wmusrey{at}ucdavis.edu.

The activity of neurons in primary visual cortex is influenced by the orientation, contrast, and temporal frequency of a visual stimulus. This raises the question of how these stimulus properties interact to shape neuronal responses. While past studies have shown that the bandwidth of orientation tuning is invariant to stimulus contrast, the influence of temporal frequency on orientation-tuning bandwidth is unknown. Here, we investigate the influence of temporal frequency on orientation tuning and direction selectivity in area 17 of ferret visual cortex. For both simple cells and complex cells, measures of orientation-tuning bandwidth (half-width at half-maximum response) are approximately 20-25° across a wide range of temporal frequencies. Thus, cortical neurons display temporal-frequency invariant orientation tuning. In contrast, direction selectivity is typically reduced, and occasionally reverses, at non-preferred temporal frequencies. These results demonstrate that the mechanisms contributing to the generation of orientation tuning and direction selectivity are differentially affected by the temporal frequency of a visual stimulus and support the notion that stability of orientation tuning is an important aspect of visual processing.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Cereb CortexHome page
I. Khaytin, X. Chen, D. W. Royal, O. Ruiz, W. J. Jermakowicz, R. M. Siegel, and V. A. Casagrande
Functional Organization of Temporal Frequency Selectivity in Primate Visual Cortex
Cereb Cortex, August 1, 2008; 18(8): 1828 - 1842.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Neurosci.Home page
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]


Home page
J. Neurophysiol.Home page
M. R. Peterson, B. Li, and R. D. Freeman
Direction Selectivity of Neurons in the Striate Cortex Increases as Stimulus Contrast Is Decreased
J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2006; 95(4): 2705 - 2712.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 2005 by the The American Physiological Society.