Electrophysiological classification of X- and Y-cells in the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus

Kratz, Kenneth E.; Webb, Sarah V.; Sherman, S. Murray

doi:10.1016/0042-6989(78)90061-5

Cited by 23 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Y-type cells can be distinguished from other geniculate relay cells by their nonlinear spatial summation of visual stimuli (Enroth-Cugell and Robson, 1966). In cats, such cells dominate the MIN population and, in the laminar dorsal LGN, dominate lamina C and form the largest cells of the A laminae (Cleland et al, 197 1, 1976;Fukuda and Stone, 1974;Wilson and Stone, 1975;Wilson et al, 1976;Kratz et al, 1978;Dreher and Sefton, 1979). In monkeys, although criteria differ (So and Shapley,198 l), there is a consensus that neurons physiologically similar to the cat Y-type cell are the major cell population of the magnocellular laminae (Dreher et al, 1976;Sherman et al, 1976;Schiller and Malpeli, 1978).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuronal populations stained with the monoclonal antibody Cat-301 in the mammalian cerebral cortex and thalamus

et al. 1988

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The monoclonal antibody Cat-301 was used to examine neurons in the cerebral cortex and dorsal thalamus of several mammalian species, including Old World monkeys, cats, bush babies, guinea pigs, and rats. In each species, subpopulations of cortical and thalamic neurons are stained along the surfaces of their somata and proximal dendrites. Cat-301-positive cortical neurons include specific groups of pyramidal cells (e.g., corticospinal but not corticobulbar or callosal neurons in the monkey sensory-motor areas) and certain GABA-immunoreactive nonpyramidal cells. In the thalamus, the relay neurons projecting to the cortex and not the intrinsic neurons are stained. The Cat-301-positive neurons are nonhomogeneously distributed in the cat and monkey cortex and thalamus. In the cortex, they are densely packed in 2 bands that in most areas include layers III and V, but that in primary sensory areas include layers IV and VI. Because the density of stained neurons, their distribution, and the intensity of their staining vary among cortical areas, the borders between neighboring areas can often be detected by the differences in Cat-301 staining. Broader, regional differences are also readily apparent, for areas in the parietal and occipital lobes contain large numbers of intensely stained cells, but most areas in the frontal and temporal lobes contain fewer, more lightly stained neurons. The same broad differences are seen within the thalamus: only those nuclei reciprocally connected with intensely stained cortical areas contain large numbers of Cat-301-positive neurons. Differences among species include variations in cell density and distribution when a given cortical area or thalamic nucleus is compared between cats and monkeys. Greater differences are seen among the other species. Immunoreactive neurons in the cerebral cortex are sparse and lightly stained in guinea pigs, are restricted to the hippocampal formation in rats, and are very rare and isolated in bush babies. Similarly, Cat-301-positive thalamic neurons are restricted to only one or 2 nuclei in the guinea pig and rat and are extremely rare in the bush baby. Cat-301 stains organized groups of neurons in the cat and monkey cortex and thalamus. In addition to the laminar organization of stained cells in all cortical areas (see above), the Cat-301-positive neurons of monkey areas 17 and 18 are grouped into radial arrays. In area 17, clusters of stained cells are present in layers above and below layer IVC. These clusters lie at the centers of ocular dominance columns, within patches stained for cytochrome oxidase (CO). Most of these cells are also GABA-immunoreactive.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuronal populations stained with the monoclonal antibody Cat-301 in the mammalian cerebral cortex and thalamus

et al. 1988

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“…The 3 properties described so far-receptive-field center size, modal response latency to OX stimulation, and linearity of spatial summation-are commonly used to distinguish X, Y, and W cells in the LGN (e.g., Shapley and Hochstein, 1975;Wilson et al, 1976;Kratz et al, 1978;So and Shapley, 1979;Sur and Sherman, 1982; see also Cleland et al, 197 1, 1976). X cells are characterized by a receptive-field center diameter of < l", latency to OX stimulation of > 1.6 msec and linear spatial summation.…”

Section: Classijication Of Lgn Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of lateral geniculate neurons that survive long-term visual cortex damage in kittens and adult cats

et al. 1989

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Damage to visual cortex (areas 17-19) in kittens or adult cats produces severe retrograde degeneration of neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). However, some neurons survive in otherwise degenerated portions of the LGN after a visual cortex lesion at any age. Previous studies have shown that there are well-defined differences in potential retinal inputs, soma size, synaptic connections, outputs, and physiological properties of output targets of the surviving LGN cells in cats that received visual cortex damage at different ages. The present experiment investigated the relationships between these differences and the responses of surviving LGN neurons to visual stimulation. Recordings were made from surviving neurons in the degenerated A- and C-layers of the LGN in cats that had received a visual cortex lesion on the day of birth, at 8 weeks of age, or as adults (survival was 11.5-36 months). Normal adult cats were studied for comparison. The visual receptive field was mapped, and tests were carried out to classify each cell as X, Y, or W. In addition, quantitative methods were used to assess response amplitude, strength of receptive-field surround inhibition, spatial-frequency tuning to drifting or counterphased sine-wave gratings, and response to nondominant-eye stimulation for each cell. We found that surviving cells in all LGN layers respond to light, have normal receptive-field organization, and have normal eye dominance following a lesion at any age tested. In addition, gross retinotopic organization of the LGN is normal. However, 2 main abnormalities were observed following a lesion at all 3 ages. First, there is a reduction in the percentage of X cells in the A layers, from 62% in normal LGNs to about 15% in degenerated LGNs. Second, many surviving cells in both the A- and C-layers have abnormally large receptive-field centers. Other differences that were observed between normal A-layer cells and surviving A-layer cells could be attributed to the loss of X cells. These results indicate that cells within a structure that shows severe retrograde degeneration after brain damage can maintain relatively normal function and can take part in potentially important residual neural pathways. Previous studies indicate that these residual pathways can show both anatomical and physiological compensation for the brain damage, and the present findings bear on the consequences and mechanisms of this compensation.

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Studies of the cat's medial interlaminar nucleus: A subdivision of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus

Kratz

Webb

Sherman

1978

J of Comparative Neurology

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The medial interlaminar nucleus (MINI of the cat lies medial to the laminated region of the dorsal lateral geniculate (1amLGN). This latter region includes the A and C laminae. As does lamLGN, MIN receives direct retinal input and projects to various visual cortical areas. We examined the MIN of 15 normal adult cats with electrophysiological and anatomical techniques.Autoradiographs processed from cats that had one eye injected with tritiated fucose and proline indicate that MIN is composed of at least two laminae, one for each eye. The area which receives input from the ipsilateral eye is a small central region surrounded dorsally, medially, and ventrally by a larger crescent shaped region that receives input from the contralateral eye. This pattern was also evident from electrophysiological recording experiments.Extracellular recordings from 102 single-units in MIN indicate that these cells have properties essentially identical to lamLGN Y-cells. That is, they had short latencies to orthodromic stimulation of the optic chiasm and antidromic stimulation of the visual cortices, responded in a phasic manner to the presentation of a standing contrast within the receptive field center, responded to rapidly moving visual stimuli, and showed non-linear spatial summation properties typical of lamLGN Y-cells. We discovered two differences between MIN cells and lamLGN Y-cells. does lamLGN, MIN receives direct retinal input (Hayhow, '58; Laties and Sprague, '66; Guillery, '70) and projects to the visual cortex. The areas of cortex to which these subdivisions project, however, are slightly different.

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Electrophysiological classification of X- and Y-cells in the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus

Cited by 23 publications

References 6 publications

Neuronal populations stained with the monoclonal antibody Cat-301 in the mammalian cerebral cortex and thalamus

Neuronal populations stained with the monoclonal antibody Cat-301 in the mammalian cerebral cortex and thalamus

Responses of lateral geniculate neurons that survive long-term visual cortex damage in kittens and adult cats

Studies of the cat's medial interlaminar nucleus: A subdivision of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus

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