Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Physiology logoLink to The Journal of Physiology
. 1981 Jul;316:1–10. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1981.sp013767

The development of spatial-frequency selectivity in kitten striate cortex.

A M Derrington, A F Fuchs
PMCID: PMC1248131  PMID: 7320858

Abstract

1. Single units were recorded in the striate cortex of kittens aged between 2 and 12 weeks. Contrast sensitivity measurements made using moving sinusoidal gratings were used to construct spatial-frequency tuning curves. 2. In young kittens cells had low sensitivities, responded only to low spatial frequencies and were unselective for spatial frequency. In addition 30% of the cells recorded in the youngest kittens were unresponsive to visual stimuli. 3. Sensitivity improved to near-adult values within 5-6 weeks. 4. Best spatial frequency improved more gradually, so that even in the oldest kittens best spatial frequencies were lower than adult values. 5. Selectivity for spatial frequency, considered both in terms of the numbers of selective cells and the narrowness of their tuning curves, improved rapidly, and reached adult values within the first 6 weeks. 6. These results are discussed in relation to other developmental studies.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barlow H. B., Blakemore C., Pettigrew J. D. The neural mechanism of binocular depth discrimination. J Physiol. 1967 Nov;193(2):327–342. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1967.sp008360. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barlow H. B., Levick W. R. Threshold setting by the surround of cat retinal ganglion cells. J Physiol. 1976 Aug;259(3):737–757. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011492. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blakemore C., Van Sluyters R. C. Innate and environmental factors in the development of the kitten's visual cortex. J Physiol. 1975 Jul;248(3):663–716. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp010995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bonds A. B., Freeman R. D. Development of optical quality in the kitten eye. Vision Res. 1978;18(4):391–398. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(78)90048-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Derrington A. M. Development of selectivity in kitten striate cortex [proceedings]. J Physiol. 1978 Mar;276:46P–47P. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Derrington A. M., Fuchs A. F. Spatial and temporal properties of X and Y cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus. J Physiol. 1979 Aug;293:347–364. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1979.sp012893. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Derrington A. Direct measurements of image quality in the kitten's eye [proceedings]. J Physiol. 1979 Oct;295:16P–17P. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Eldridge J. L. A reversible ophthalmoscope using a corner-cube [proceedings]. J Physiol. 1979 Oct;295:1P–2P. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Enroth-Cugell C., Robson J. G. The contrast sensitivity of retinal ganglion cells of the cat. J Physiol. 1966 Dec;187(3):517–552. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1966.sp008107. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Freeman D. N., Marg E. Visual acuity development coincides with the sensitive period in kittens. Nature. 1975 Apr 17;254(5501):614–615. doi: 10.1038/254614a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. HUBEL D. H., WIESEL T. N. Receptive fields of single neurones in the cat's striate cortex. J Physiol. 1959 Oct;148:574–591. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1959.sp006308. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. HUBEL D. H., WIESEL T. N. Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat's visual cortex. J Physiol. 1962 Jan;160:106–154. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1962.sp006837. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hubel D. H., Wiesel T. N. The period of susceptibility to the physiological effects of unilateral eye closure in kittens. J Physiol. 1970 Feb;206(2):419–436. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1970.sp009022. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ikeda H., Tremain K. E. The development of spatial resolving power of lateral geniculate neurones in kittens. Exp Brain Res. 1978 Feb 15;31(2):193–206. doi: 10.1007/BF00237599. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Levick W. R. Another tungsten microelectrode. Med Biol Eng. 1972 Jul;10(4):510–515. doi: 10.1007/BF02474199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Maffei L., Fiorentini A. The visual cortex as a spatial frequency analyser. Vision Res. 1973 Jul;13(7):1255–1267. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(73)90201-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Merrill E. G., Ainsworth A. Glass-coated platinum-plated tungsten microelectrodes. Med Biol Eng. 1972 Sep;10(5):662–672. doi: 10.1007/BF02476084. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Mitchell D. E., Giffin F., Wilkinson F., Anderson P., Smith M. L. Visual resolution in young kittens. Vision Res. 1976;16(4):363–366. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(76)90197-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Movshon J. A., Thompson I. D., Tolhurst D. J. Receptive field organization of complex cells in the cat's striate cortex. J Physiol. 1978 Oct;283:79–99. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1978.sp012489. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Movshon J. A., Thompson I. D., Tolhurst D. J. Spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity of neurones in areas 17 and 18 of the cat's visual cortex. J Physiol. 1978 Oct;283:101–120. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1978.sp012490. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Movshon J. A., Thompson I. D., Tolhurst D. J. Spatial summation in the receptive fields of simple cells in the cat's striate cortex. J Physiol. 1978 Oct;283:53–77. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1978.sp012488. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Schiller P. H., Finlay B. L., Volman S. F. Quantitative studies of single-cell properties in monkey striate cortex. III. Spatial frequency. J Neurophysiol. 1976 Nov;39(6):1334–1351. doi: 10.1152/jn.1976.39.6.1334. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Thorn F., Gollender M., Erickson P. The development of the kittens visual optics. Vision Res. 1976;16(10):1145–1149. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(76)90255-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Physiological Society

RESOURCES