Binocular interaction fields of single units in the cat striate cortex

Abstract

1. Based on average response histograms to an optimal stimulus, binocular interaction field plots were obtained from twenty-five simple neurones in the striate cortex of the cat. Each binocularly activated cell has two interaction fields, one for each eye. The binocular interaction field for one eye plots the changes in the amplitude of the response from the other eye as the two receptive fields of the binocularly activated cell are moved across one another, first into and then out of alignment in the plane of the optimal stimulus (tangent screen).2. The binocular interaction field provides an important clue to the nature of the spatial organization of the excitatory and inhibitory regions of the monocular receptive field. The commonest type of receptive field organization has regions of inhibition (inhibitory side bands) to either side of the discharge centre in the direction at right angles to the optimal stimulus orientation. As well as inhibition, there are subliminal excitatory effects.3. Binocular interaction fields differ with the various cell types, i.e. cells that are discharged only from the one eye, cells binocularly discharged with very weak or absent monocular responses and cells showing binocularly opposite direction selectivity.4. Marked facilitation to an optimal stimulus occurs when the two receptive fields of a binocularly activated neurone are in accurate alignment. Facilitation switches to depression for very small degrees of receptive field misalignment in a direction at right angles to the optimal stimulus orientation. These observations are of importance in relation to mechanisms for binocular single vision and depth discrimination.