Neurobiological mechanisms of cortical direction selectivity

Curtis L. Baker Jr.; Jane C. Boulton

doi:10.1117/12.171139

17 March 1994 Neurobiological mechanisms of cortical direction selectivity

Curtis L. Baker Jr., Jane C. Boulton

Proceedings Volume 2054, Computational Vision Based on Neurobiology; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.171139
Event: Computational Vision Based on Neurobiology, 1993, Park Grove, CA, United States

Abstract

From consideration of a number of types of apparently linear and nonlinear behavior of direction selectivity of visual cortex neurons, it will be argued that there are at least two fundamentally different types of motion computation. The first, designated quasi-linear, entails a summation of afferent signals which are in approximate quadrature phase, both spatially and temporally (e.g., lagged and nonlagged LGN afferents, in the cat); the summation may be of a linear or a partially nonlinear nature, but is carried out on specific signals falling within a relatively restricted spatial frequency passband and confined receptive field. The second, referred to as nonlinear, involves a highly nonlinear integration of additional, nonspecific afferent signals, generally outside the conventional spatiotemporal frequency passband of a neuron, and also outside of the `classical' receptive field. Some novel aspects of this formulation are: the same neuron may exhibit both quasi-linear and nonlinear behavior; quasi- linear mechanisms may display substantial nonlinearities, possibly accounting for detection of some non-Fourier stimuli. Data are presented to illustrate the idea that white noise analysis methods are well-suited to characterize the spatiotemporal nonlinearities of quasi-linear mechanisms, but fail to provide insight into the processing of nonlinear mechanisms.

Citation Download Citation

Curtis L. Baker Jr. and Jane C. Boulton "Neurobiological mechanisms of cortical direction selectivity", Proc. SPIE 2054, Computational Vision Based on Neurobiology, (17 March 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.171139

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available