Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 3, 2121-2127, Copyright © 1983 by Society for Neuroscience
Contribution of the cortico-claustral loop to receptive field properties in area 17 of the cat
H Sherk and S LeVay
The contribution of the cat's claustrum to the response properties of cells
in area 17 was studied by destroying the left claustrum and examining
receptive field properties of cells in both the left and right area 17. For
each cell we assessed sharpness of orientation tuning, degree of direction
selectivity, length summation, end- stopping, ocular dominance,
responsiveness, and several other properties. On the lesioned side, 462
cells were studied, and on the control side, 636 cells. All cats showed a
reduction in the number of end-stopped cells in area 17 on the side of the
lesion. This was particularly marked in layers 2 + 3 and 4, where
end-stopped cells are normally most abundant. In the control hemisphere,
43% of the sample from these layers showed at least moderate end-stopping
whereas, in contrast, only 21% exhibited this degree of end-stopping on the
side of the lesion. There was no obvious change in other response
properties. We conclude that one function of the cat's claustrum is to help
regulate the length selectivity of cells in area 17.