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The Journal of Neuroscience, August 1, 1998, 18(15):5908-5927
Contrast-Invariant Orientation Tuning in Cat Visual Cortex:
Thalamocortical Input Tuning and Correlation-Based Intracortical
Connectivity
Todd W.
Troyer2, 6,
Anton E.
Krukowski5, 6,
Nicholas J.
Priebe4, 6, and
Kenneth D.
Miller1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Departments of 1 Physiology, 2 Psychiatry,
and 3 Otolaryngology, 4 Neuroscience and
5 Biophysics Graduate Programs, 6 W. M. Keck
Center for Integrative Neuroscience, 7 Sloan Center for
Theoretical Neurobiology at UCSF, University of California, San
Francisco, California 94143-0444
The origin of orientation selectivity in visual cortical responses
is a central problem for understanding cerebral cortical circuitry. In
cats, many experiments suggest that orientation selectivity arises from
the arrangement of lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) afferents to layer
4 simple cells. However, this explanation is not sufficient to account
for the contrast invariance of orientation tuning.
To understand contrast invariance, we first characterize the input to
cat simple cells generated by the oriented arrangement of LGN
afferents. We demonstrate that it has two components: a spatial-phase-specific component (i.e., one that depends on receptive field spatial phase), which is tuned for orientation, and a
phase-nonspecific component, which is untuned. Both components grow
with contrast.
Second, we show that a correlation-based intracortical circuit, in
which connectivity between cell pairs is determined by the correlation
of their LGN inputs, is sufficient to achieve well tuned,
contrast-invariant orientation tuning. This circuit generates both
spatially opponent, "antiphase" inhibition ("push-pull"), and
spatially matched, "same-phase" excitation. The inhibition, if
sufficiently strong, suppresses the untuned input component and
sharpens responses to the tuned component at all contrasts. The
excitation amplifies tuned responses. This circuit agrees with
experimental evidence showing spatial opponency between, and similar
orientation tuning of, the excitatory and inhibitory inputs received by
a simple cell. Orientation tuning is primarily input driven, accounting
for the observed invariance of tuning width after removal of
intracortical synaptic input, as well as for the dependence of
orientation tuning on stimulus spatial frequency.
The model differs from previous push-pull models in requiring dominant
rather than balanced inhibition and in predicting that a population of
layer 4 inhibitory neurons should respond in a contrast-dependent
manner to stimuli of all orientations, although their tuning width may
be similar to that of excitatory neurons. The model demonstrates that
fundamental response properties of cortical layer 4 can be explained by
circuitry expected to develop under correlation-based rules of synaptic
plasticity, and shows how such circuitry allows the cortex to
distinguish stimulus intensity from stimulus form.
Key words:
visual cortex; LGN; contrast invariance; cerebral
cortical circuitry; orientation selectivity; model; simple cell; layer
4; V1; push-pull; opponent inhibition; spatial phase
Copyright © 1998 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/98/18155908-20$05.00/0
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