The Visually Responsive Neuron: From Basic Neurophysiology to Behavior(v. 95 Progress in Brain Research)

This volume presents broadly-based and wide-ranging contributions on all aspects of vision. The material is grouped for presentation in a logical fashion in five main themes: peripheral processing; sensory integration in superior colliculus; organization of visual projections; development and plasticity; and neuronal encoding and visually-guided behaviour. The material spans from molecules to cognition, including overt behaviour, and synaptic and membrane levels of analysis. The species studied also range over diverse phyla, while contributors too form a diverse group, representing Europe, North America and Asia.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Peripheral processing: the electrical responses of the trout photoreceptors to brief and prolonged illumination; light sensitivity, adaptation and saturation in mammalian rods; responses of isolated cat retinal ganglion cells to injected currents during development; macaque ganglion cells and spatal vision; the neurophysiological correlates of ccolour induction, ccolour and brightness contrast. Part 2: sensory integration in superior colliculus; determinants of axonal and dendritic structure in the superior colliculus; functional architecture of rodent superior colliculus - relevance of multiple output channgels; the visually responsive neuron and beyond - multisensory integration in cat and monkey; sensory integration in the deep layers of superior colliculus; early and late flash-induced field responses correspond on On and OFF receptive field components in hamster superior colliculus. Part 3 Functional and anatomical organization of visual projections: functional organization of the projections from the rabbit's superior colliculus to the lateral posterior nucleus; multiple visual areas in the posterior parietal cortex of primates; corticotectal relationships - direct and "indirect" corticotectal pathways; abnormal visual experience and spatio-temporal properties of area; neurones in the cat; visual behaviour following lesion of phasic W-fibres in the cat's optic tract; visuotopic organization of corticocortical connections in the visual system; disparity coding in the cat - a comparison between areas 17/18 and area 19. Part 4 Development and placticity: cortical convergence of On and Off pathways and functional adaptation of receptive field organization in cat area 17; temporal covariance of postsynaptic membrane potential and synaptic input role in synaptic efficiency n visual cortex; potentiation of the extrageniculo-striate pathway - a possible role in visual pattern discrimination; long-term changes in visual mechanisms following differential stimulation of colour and luminance channels during development; the development of visual corticcal properties depends on visuo-proprioceptive congruence; reorganization processes in the visual cortex also depend on visual experience in the adult cat; extraretinal modulation of geniculate neuronal activity by conditioning; the properties of the long-term potentiation (LTP) in the superior colliculus; the nature of synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex of kittens; an electrophysiological analysis in vitro. Part contents.