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Receptive fields of primate retinal ganglion cells studied with a novel technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1998

BARRY B. LEE
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
JAN KREMERS
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Ophthalmology, University of Tübingen Eye Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
TSAIYAO YEH
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Abstract

We have reinvestigated receptive-field structure of ganglion cells of the macaque parafovea using counterphase modulation of a bipartite field. Receptive fields were mapped with luminance, chromatic, and cone-isolating stimuli. Center sizes of middle (M) and long (L) wavelength cone opponent cells of the parvocellular (PC) pathway were consistent with previous estimates (Gaussian radii of 2–4 min of arc, corresponding to center diameters of 6–12 min of arc). We calculate that a large factor of the enlargement relative to cone radius could be blur due to the eye's natural optics. Maps were consistent with cone selectivity in surround mechanisms, which had radii of 5–8 min of arc. For magnocellular (MC) cells, center size estimates were also consistent with grating measurements from the literature (also Gaussian radii of 2–4 min of arc). The surround mechanism contributing the MC-cell frequency-doubled response to chromatic modulation appears to possess a subunit structure, and we speculate it derives from nonlinear summation of signals from M,L-cone opponent subunits, such as midget bipolar cells.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
1998 Cambridge University Press

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