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Contrast dependence of contextual effects in primate visual cortex

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan B. Levitt

    (University College London)

  • Jennifer S. Lund

    (University College London)

Abstract

The responses of neurons in the visual cortex to stimuli presented within their receptive fields can be markedly modulated by stimuli presented in surrounding regions that do not themselves evoke responses1–7. This modulation depends on the relative orientation and direction of motion of the centre and surround stimuli, and it has been suggested that local cortical circuits linking cells with similar stimulus selectivities underlie these phenomena 8–16. However, the functional relevance and nature of these integrative processes remain unclear. Here we investigate how such integration depends on the relative activity levels of neurons at different points across the cortex by varying the relative contrast of stimuli over the receptive field and surrounding regions. We show that simply altering the balance of the excitation driving centre and surround regions can dramatically change the sign and stimulus selectivity of these contextual effects. Thus, the way that single neurons integrate information across the visual field depends not only on the precise form of stimuli at different locations, but also crucially on their relative contrasts. We suggest that these effects reflect a complex gaincontrol mechanism that regulates cortical neuron responsiveness, which permits dynamic modification of response properties of cortical neurons.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan B. Levitt & Jennifer S. Lund, 1997. "Contrast dependence of contextual effects in primate visual cortex," Nature, Nature, vol. 387(6628), pages 73-76, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:387:y:1997:i:6628:d:10.1038_387073a0
    DOI: 10.1038/387073a0
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    Cited by:

    1. Ruben Coen-Cagli & Peter Dayan & Odelia Schwartz, 2012. "Cortical Surround Interactions and Perceptual Salience via Natural Scene Statistics," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Li Zhaoping & Li Zhe, 2015. "Primary Visual Cortex as a Saliency Map: A Parameter-Free Prediction and Its Test by Behavioral Data," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-39, October.
    3. Yajie Liang & Rongwen Lu & Katharine Borges & Na Ji, 2023. "Stimulus edges induce orientation tuning in superior colliculus," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Qiang Sang & Biao Cai & Hao Chen, 2017. "Contour detection improved by context-adaptive surround suppression," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(7), pages 1-13, July.

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