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The effect of stimulus velocity on the response of movement sensitive neurons of the frog's retina

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Zusammenfassung

1. Von Opticusfasern des europäischen Wasserfrosches wurden mit metallgefüllten Mikroelektroden die Aktionspotentiale 4 verschiedener Neuronenklassen registriert. die Abhängigkeit der neuronalen Aktivierung von der Winkelgeschwindigkeit der bewegten Reizmuster wurde untersucht.

2. Als Maß für die neuronale Aktivierung wurde die mittlere Impulsfrequenz (R) gewählt, die ein kleines Objekt während der Durchquerung des excitatorischen receptiven Feldes (ERF) auslöste. Zwischen R und v wurde innerhalb weiter Grenzen (0.05–20° · sec−1) eine Potenzfunktion gefunden: R=k·v c (Impulse · sec−1). Der Exponent c war 0,5 für Neurone der Klasse 1, 0,7 für Neurone der Klasse 2 und 0,95 für Neurone der Klasse 3. Die off-Neurone (Klasse 4) zeigten für kleine bewegte Objekte (<5°) keine regelhafte Beziehung zwischen R und v; für große dunkle, auf weißem Hintergrund bewegte Objekte wurde eine lineare Beziehung zwischen R und v gefunden.

3. Eine Änderung des Kontrastes der bewegten Reize gegen den Hintergrund beeinflußte den Exponenten c nicht, während k mit Abnahme des Kontrastes kleiner wurde. Der Exponent c war unabhängig von der Richtung und der Art der Bewegung (linear, nichtlinear, unregelmäßig) und von der Größe der bewegten Reize, so lange diese kleiner als das ERF waren.

4. Ein einfaches Modell des receptiven Feldes, das auf dem Analogrechner simuliert werden kann, wird erläutert. Es wird angenommen, daß die Signalübertragung durch die verschiedenen Bipolarzellen durch verschiedene Bandpassfilter dargestellt werden kann. Mit dem Analogmodell kann gezeigt werden, daß die untere Grenzfrequenz dieser Bandpaßfilter den Exponenten c in der Potenzfunktion zwischen R und v bestimmt.

Summary

1. By means of metal-filled micropipettes the action potentials of 4 different classes of optic nerve fibers were recorded in Rana esculenta. The relationship between the angular velocity of the stimuli and the neuronal response was determined.

2. If an object smaller than the excitatory receptive field (ERF) was moved through the receptive field of the different classes of retinal units the response depended on the angular velocity, contrast and size of the stimulus. The response was measured as the average impulses frequency (R) during the traverse of the ERF. Between R and the angular velocity (v) the equation R=k·v c [impulses · sec−1] was found. The exponent c was 0.5 for class 1 neurons, 0.7 for class 2 neurons, and 0.95 for class 3 neurons. In class 4 neurons the response to large stimuli increased linearly with the increase of the angular velocity, while no systematic relationship between R and v was valid for small moving stimuli (<5°)

3. If the contrast or the size of the stimuli was changed the exponent c was not changed; but k depended on both parameters and on the direction of the contrast against the background. The power function was no longer valid if stimuli considerably larger than the ERF were used. The exponent c was independent of the type of the movement (linear, non-linear, irregular movement); it was also independent of the direction of the motion.

4. A model of the receptive field is demonstrated. In this model an RC-filter function within the bipolar cells is assumed. The bipolar cells with different filter function activate different classes of ganglion cells. Different time constants of the bandpass filter at the bipolar cell level are the main cause for the different exponents of the power function between angular velocity and neuronal response.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

    O.-J. Grüsser, D. Finkelstein & U. Grüsser-Cornehls

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  1. O.-J. Grüsser
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  2. D. Finkelstein
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  3. U. Grüsser-Cornehls
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Grüsser, OJ., Finkelstein, D. & Grüsser-Cornehls, U. The effect of stimulus velocity on the response of movement sensitive neurons of the frog's retina. Pflügers Archiv 300, 49–66 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384597

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