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On the directional selectivity of cells in the visual cortex to drifting dot patterns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Bernt C. Skottun ,
Jun Zhang  and
David H. Grosof
Bernt C. Skottun
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
Jun Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
David H. Grosof
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
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Abstract

It is well established that cortical neurons frequently show different preferred drift directions for random dots and gratings. Dot stimuli often produce two preferred directions which are arranged symmetrically on either side of the preferred directions for gratings. Based on their filter properties in three-dimensional (3-D) Fourier space and on the 3-D power spectra of drifting dot patterns, we estimated the optimal direction to drifting dots for ten neurons in the striate cortex of five adult cats. These estimates frequently gave two optimal directions, one on either side of the optimal direction to gratings. The angle between the two estimated peaks increases with drift speed. Predicted and actual angles were in reasonably good agreement. We conclude, therefore, that the directional selectivity of cortical neurons to drifting random dot patterns can be understood from linear filtering properties. For this reason, the directional tuning to drifting dot patterns seems to reflect the same mechanisms that mediate the responses to sinusoidal gratings and do not require a separate directional mechanism.

Keywords

Cortical neuronsDirectionRandom dotsLinearityDrift velocity
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 11 , Issue 5 , September 1994 , pp. 885 - 897
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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