A sustained input to the direction-selective mechanism in cat striate cortex neurons

Abstract

AbstractDirection-selective neurons in cat striate cortex were tested with bar-shaped stimuli, sequentially flashed at spatially displaced positions chosen to elicit maximal direction selectivity. Temporally overlapping flash exposures of prolonged duration (400–1000 ms) were employed at a series of onset asynchronies to explore the nature of temporal tuning of the direction-selective mechanism. In most neurons studied, direction selectivity was found to be supported by a surprisingly broad range of stimulus onset asynchronies, which was greater for longer exposure durations. These findings imply the existence of a sustained input to the direction-selective mechanism, in spite of the relatively transient nature of most cortical neurons' step responses. A model is described to illustrate how different front-end temporal filters can affect the dependence of two-flash direction selectivity on stimulus onset asynchrony. The versions of the model which successfully predict the form of the observed responses are those which combine inputs from sustained and transient filters.