Receptive fields of neurons in areas 17 and 18 of tree shrews (Tupaia glis)

Abstract

Receptive fields of 245 cells in areas 17 and 18 were explored in tree shrews. Cells with simple and complex receptive fields were found in both areas but with different statistical distriubtions. A small percentage of non-oriented fields were found to be binocularly activated in both areas. Cells in area 17 preferred dark over light stimuli. Selective for direction, speed of stimulus movement, and level of background illumination, as well as combinations of these were common. Few hypercomplex cells were found. The superior retention of visually guided behavior of three shrews after lesions of the striate cortex is not explained by any radical difference between the properties of their striate neurons and those of other mammals.