Geometry of orientation columns in the visual cortex

Braitenberg, Valentino; Braitenberg, Carla

doi:10.1007/bf00337296

Cited by 128 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Braitenberg and Braitenberg (1979) have proposed a simple method to uniquely define the position of these centers on the vicinity of the electrode tracks. Their method was based on the extension of successive oriented lines corresponding to the orientation selectivity at each recording site along an electrode track.…”

Section: The Braitenberg's Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on one-dimensional evaluation of orientation, Hubel and Wiesel (1974) suggested that the orientation preference might be represented in parallel slabs in primate visual cortex. Conventional microelectrode measurements offer a one-dimensional picture of columnar organization within a three-dimensional cortex; however, it has been difficult to deduce from such measurements the precise form of the larger two-dimensional (2D) columnar representation (Braitenberg and Braitenberg 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One obvious problem is that optical signals cannot be recorded readily from cortical regions that are buried within sulci. Long before the description of the organization of these columns by the optical imaging method, Braitenberg and Braitenberg (1979), based on the analysis of published data on the orientation selectivity in V1 of cat (Albus 1975) and monkey (Hubel and Wiesel 1974), proposed that the orientation columns most probable were organized in radial arrangements. These authors, based on the analysis of published data from penetration oblique to the cortical surface, proposed a model for the geometry of the orientation columns in visual cortex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The array enables a two-dimensional sampling of neuronal direction selectivity along each electrode and simultaneously across all electrodes of the array. We describe the modular 2D organization of direction-ofmotion selectivity using the Braitenberg's method (Braitenberg and Braitenberg 1979) to reveal the centers of radial arrangements and to estimate their dimensions. A preliminary account of these results was presented previously in abstract form (Diogo et al 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two-dimensional map of direction selectivity in cortical visual area MT of Cebus monkey

Diogo

Soares

Albright

et al. 2002

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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We studied the spatial organization of direction of motion in visual area MT of the Cebus apella monkey. We used arrays of 6 (700 µm apart) parallel electrodes in penetrations tangential to the cortical layers to record multi-unit responses to moving bars, at 200 µm steps. We determined the direction selectivity at each recording site. The data from single penetrations showed cyclic and gradual changes in the direction selectivity of clusters of cells, intermixed with abrupt 180 • discontinuities along the electrode track. In order to obtain maps of direction of motion selectivity, we examined the spatial distribution of direction of motion in MT and we applied a method to determine the location of the centers of radial arrangements of direction selectivity. This tangential organization is characterized by slow continuous changes in direction of motion, interrupted by discontinuities. The changes in direction selectivity are organized radially in a pinwheel fashion and in slabs of linear variation. The pinwheel arrangements have 800-1400 µm in diameter. The size of the radial arrangement is comparable to the point image size in area MT at each eccentricity.

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Section: The Braitenberg's Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Two-dimensional map of direction selectivity in cortical visual area MT of Cebus monkey

Diogo

Soares

Albright

et al. 2002

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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“…With such descriptions, it becomes possible to identify subtle differences [for instance, that the hippocampus does not look all that different from the cortex (Braitenberg and Schüz 1983)], and to give discerning criteria between brain organs. Also the appearance of particular symmetries, such as columns in the visual cortex (Braitenberg and Braitenberg 1979) or the barrel cortex of rodents, can be explained with relation to behavior (Braitenberg 1977).…”

Section: The Primacy Of Neuroanatomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Valentino Braitenberg: From neuroanatomy to behavior and back

Negrello

2013

Biol Cybern

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This article compiles an expose of Valentino Braitenberg's singular view on neuroanatomy and neuroscience. The review emphasizes his topologically informed work on neuroanatomy and his dialectics of brain-based explanations of motor behavior. Some of his early ideas on topologically informed neuroanatomy are presented, together with some of his more obscure work on the taxonomy of neural fiber bundles and synaptic arborizations. His functionally informed interpretations of neuroanatomy of the cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus, are introduced. Finally, we will touch on his philosophical views and the inextricable role of function in the explanation of neural behavior.Keywords Neuroscience · Neuroanatomy · History · Braitenberg · Behavioral function ProlegomenaAbove great achievements, what brings the community to admire a scientist is a set of characteristics that transcend science and knowledge and approach nobility and wisdom. Science is a human endeavor with the commendable goal of understanding reality, in the hope that advancing science will bring us to better understand ourselves, and ourselves in the world. Through the work of great men, we approach that ideal.In great minds, tenacity is augmented by the ability to channel the product of observations with clarity and flair. In their descriptions the reality beneath the experiment becomes alive, unencumbered by jargon, wants to speak itself. The constraints imposed by experiment rather than nuisances, appear as scaffolds. For them, nature both suggests and takes precedence over theoretical constructs. As a consequence, their prose often reads as if it would have written itself, as if truth yearned for light.This article was conceived before the passing of Valentino Braitenberg, in the hope that he would have the opportunity to personally review it. Due to that it will likely at times read as an eulogy, but in that case, I believe, excusably. Braitenberg was a model of scientific attitude, both sober and jovial, inspired and humble, strict, and flexible. Simultaneously able to capture the essentials in an effortless glance, while swiftly accepting the burden of proof. With clarity, he indicated the flimsy, the flaky, the incomplete, the obscure, the messy, the missing, meanwhile stressing the necessary, the inescapable, the solid. Sternly, he offered pondered and polished logical foundations of his beliefs.The article attempts to characterize Valentino's manner of doing neuroanatomy and neuroscience while enlisting some of his most significant contributions to theory, method, and philosophy of the functional interpretation of neuroanatomy.With the hope of becoming great, we attempt to mirror ourselves against models. In neuroscience we have great men to mirror ourselves against. Cajal, Sherrington, Varela, Bernstein, von Helmholz, Reichardt, and now Braitenberg. Valentino Braitenberg was a living influence on many, and his legacy will be there for many to discover and learn from. 123

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Topographic organization of the orientation column system in large flat‐mounts of the cat visual cortex: A 2‐deoxyglucose study

Löwel

Freeman

Singer

1987

J of Comparative Neurology

121

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We developed a flat-mount technique in order to visualize, without additional reconstruction, the system of orientation columns in the cat visual cortex by using 2-deoxyglucose-autoradiography. Experimental animals were injected with 2-deoxyglucose and then stimulated for 45-60 minutes either with vertical or horizontal or oblique gratings alone or with vertical and horizontal gratings presented in alternation. In both areas 17 and 18 stimulation with either vertical or horizontal or oblique stripes produced similar and highly ordered patterns of parallel bands of increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake that were perpendicular to the boundaries of the areas. In area 17 they occasionally extended without interruption from the 17/18 border on the top of the lateral gyrus to the monocular segment in the splenial sulcus. Superposition of serial sections revealed that these bands were present in all cortical layers and in precise register along lines orthogonal to the lamination. The center-to-center spacing of the bands was 1.0-1.1 mm in area 17 and 1.2-1.4 mm in area 18. Stimulation with alternating vertical and horizontal contours led to a pattern the general organization of which resembled that induced by a single orientation but the spacing of which was reduced by a factor of 0.5. This strongly supports the concept that orientation is mapped in a system of parallel bands and argues against a recently formulated hypothesis that iso-orientation bands extend like spokes from centers that lack orientation selectivity (Braitenberg and Braitenberg, Biol. Cybern. 33:179-186, '79). Another characteristic feature, revealed by the flat-mount technique, was a periodic variation of 2-deoxyglucose uptake along the bands that gave them a beaded appearance. The mean center-to-center distance between adjacent beads on the same band was in the range of 0.9-1.2 mm and remained unchanged when horizontal and vertical gratings were presented in alternation. We propose that these beads reflect another columnar system whose features have yet to be determined.

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Geometry of orientation columns in the visual cortex

Cited by 128 publications

References 22 publications

Two-dimensional map of direction selectivity in cortical visual area MT of Cebus monkey

Two-dimensional map of direction selectivity in cortical visual area MT of Cebus monkey

Valentino Braitenberg: From neuroanatomy to behavior and back

Topographic organization of the orientation column system in large flat‐mounts of the cat visual cortex: A 2‐deoxyglucose study

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