Neuroscience 2004 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 822.6 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | Functional significance of the retinal oscillating potentials. |
| Authors: |
Galambos, R.*1
; Lorincz, M.2
; Olah, M.2
; Juhasz, G.2
1Neurosci., UCSD, La Jolla, CA 2Hungary, 8826 La Jolla Scenic Dr, 92037, |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Sensory Systems - Vision -- Subcortical visual pathways |
| Session: |
822. Visual Cortex: States and Networks Slide |
| Presentation Time: | Wednesday, October 27, 2004 9:15 AM-9:30 AM |
| Location: | San Diego Convention Center - Room 5B |
| Keywords: | RETINAL GANGLION CELL, VISUAL CORTEX, VISUAL PERCEPTION |
Four publications and six previous SfN Posters have presented and developed the finding that stimulus onset always evokes a ganglion cell volley lasting about 300 ms from both the rat and human retina. We show here that these 300 ms volleys are divided into two parts, early and late. The retinal marker for the early part is the series of electrophysiological deflections called Oscillating Potentials (OPs) that appear on the rising limb of the retinal b–wave. Rat and human OPs have the form of a cluster of four or five wavelets lasting about 25 ms. The rat cluster leaves the retina and is recorded at the optic chiasm level about four ms later, and at the visual cortex about six ms after that. At the cortical level the rat cluster generates the first negative wave of the visual evoked potential; a corresponding early negative wave with a similar latency is recorded from the human scalp. Although OPs are widely considered to be “oscillations” due to retinal amacrine cell activity, our evidence indicates that rat and human OPs are in fact a separate, discrete initial fraction of the optic nerve axon volley.
Psychologists have long known that human viewers perceive the first member of a stimulus pair only after the interval between them exceeds 50 or 60 ms. Visual priming experiments are another example of stimuli that are not perceived until they reach 50-70 ms in duration. These examples, and others as well, indicate that the human cortex receives and processes the stimulus-onset information delivered by an OP cluster but does not convert it into a perceptual experience. Hence the function of the discrete, early component of every ca.300 ms ganglion cell volley remains to be defined.
Psychologists have long known that human viewers perceive the first member of a stimulus pair only after the interval between them exceeds 50 or 60 ms. Visual priming experiments are another example of stimuli that are not perceived until they reach 50-70 ms in duration. These examples, and others as well, indicate that the human cortex receives and processes the stimulus-onset information delivered by an OP cluster but does not convert it into a perceptual experience. Hence the function of the discrete, early component of every ca.300 ms ganglion cell volley remains to be defined.
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2004 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, 2004. Online.
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