Elsevier

Neuroscience

Volume 17, Issue 1, January 1986, Pages 49-55
Neuroscience

The role of gabaergic inhibition in the response properties of neurones in cat visual area 18

https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4522(86)90224-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Bicuculline methiodide was iontophoretically applied to single neurones in cat area 18 to investigate how removal of γ-aminobutyrate mediated inhibition affects the visual response properties. Moving sinusoidal gratings were used to study spatial and temporal response characteristics. Orientation sensitivity and spatial and temporal frequency tuning curves were determined with and without iontophoretically applied bicuculline. In most neurones, orientation sensitivity and spatial frequency tuning remained largely unaffected, whereas temporal frequency tuning was very much broadened.

It is suggested that the dominant excitatory input to area 18 cells is a spatially organized input from area 17 and local inhibition in area 18 sharpens primarily temporal selectivity. An alternative explanation of our results would be that the distribution of synapses mediating temporal tuning in area 18 is fundamentally different from that mediating spatial frequency and orientation tuning, which may be located at sites distant from the cell body and relatively inaccessible to the drug application.

Reference (33)

  • HenryG.H.

    Receptive field classes of cells in the striate cortex of the cat

    Brain Res.

    (1977)
  • KawamuraK.

    Corticocortical fibre connections of the cat cerebrum—III. The occipital region

    Brow Res.

    (1973)
  • OrbanG.A. et al.

    Unit responses to moving stimuli in area 18 of the cat

    Brain Res.

    (1975)
  • CreutzfeldtO.D. et al.

    An intracellular analysis of visual cortical neurones to moving stimuli: responses in a cooperative neuronal network

    Exp. Brain Res.

    (1974)
  • DonaldsonI.M.L. et al.

    The effect of a chronic lesion in cortical area 17 on the visual responses of units in area 18 of the cat

    J. Physiol.

    (1975)
  • DreherB. et al.

    Visual receptive field properties of cells in area 18 of cat's cerebral cortex before and after acute lesions in area 17

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (1975)
  • DreherB. et al.

    Geniculate input to cat visual cortex: a comparison of area 19 with areas 17 and 18

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (1980)
  • FosterK.H. et al.

    Spatial and temporal frequency selectivity of neurones in V1 and V2 of the macaque monkey

    Soc. Neurosci. Absl.

    (1983)
  • GareyL.H. et al.

    Interrelationships of striate and extrastriate cortex with the primary relay sites of the visual pathway

    J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat.

    (1968)
  • GareyL.H. et al.

    An experimental study of the termination of the lateral geniculo-cortical pathway in the cat and monkey

  • GilbertC.D. et al.

    The projections of cells in different layers of the cat's visual cortex

    J. comp. Neurol.

    (1975)
  • HarveyA.R.

    The afferent connexions and laminar distribution of cells in area 18 of the cat

    J. Physiol.

    (1980)
  • HenryG.H. et al.

    Orientation specificity of cells in the cat striate cortex

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (1974)
  • HubelD.H. et al.

    Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat's visual cortex

    J. Physiol.

    (1962)
  • HubelD.H. et al.

    Receptive fields and functional architecture in two nonstriate areas (18 and 19) of the cat

    J. Neurophysiol.

    (1965)
  • KulikowskiJ.J. et al.

    Spatial arrangement of responses by cells in the cat visual cortex to light and dark bars and edges

    Exp. Brain Res.

    (1981)
  • Cited by (26)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text