Skip to main content

Contrast Enhancement Mechanisms in the Retinothalamic Circuitry

  • Conference paper
  • 1274 Accesses

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 7930))

Abstract

The center-surround organization of the receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells highlights the presence of contrast in visual stimuli. As the receptive fields of thalamic relay cells follow the same organization, it is assumed that nothing or little processing is carried out at the thalamic stage before the information reaches higher processing areas. However, recent data in cat showing that the number of thalamic relay cells doubles those of retinal ganglion cells opens the door to question how contrast information is kept in an enlarged representation of the visual stimulus at the thalamic stage. This paper is aimed at providing a plausible explanation by means of simulations performed with a realistic dynamic model of the retinothalamic circuit.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Alonso, J.M., Yeh, C.I., Weng, C., Stoelzel, C.: Retinogeniculate connections: a balancing act between connection specificity and receptive field diversity. Progress in Brain Research 154 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Allen, E.A., Freeman, R.D.: Dynamic Spatial Processing Originates in Early Visual Pathways (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Izhikevich, E.M.: Simple Model of Spiking Neurons. IEEE Transactions of Neural Networks 14(6) (November 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Gewaltig, M.O., Diesmann, M.: Nest (neural simulation tool). Scholarpedia 2(4), 1430 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Madarász, M., Gerle, J., Hajdu, F., Somogyi, G., Tombol, T.: Quantitative histological studies on the lateral geniculate nucleus in the cat. II. Cell numbers and densities in the several layers. J. Hirnforsch. 19(2), 159–164 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ringach, D.L.: Haphazard Wiring of Simple Receptive Fields and Orientation Columns in Visual Cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 92, 468–476 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Yeh, C.I., Stoelzel, C.R., Weng, C., Alonso, J.M.: Functional Consequences of Neural Divergence Within the Retinogeniculate Pathway. J. Neurophysiol. 101 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  8. McCormick, D.A., Huguenard, J.: A model of the electrophysiological properties of thalamocortical relay neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology 68, 1384–1400 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Ferreiroa, R., Sanchez, E.: Functional properties of a realistic model of dLGN. Neurocomputing (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Palmer, S.E.: Vision Science. MIT (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Dayan, P., Abbott, L.F.: Theorical Neuroscience. MIT (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Rieke, F., Warland, D.: Spikes exploring the neural code. MIT (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Koch, C.: Biophysics of Computation. Oxford University Press (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Manzón, M.M., Rodríguez, M.M., Otero, L.M.: DEA. How the thalamus chages What the cat’s eye tells the cat’s brain (2009)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Ferreiroa, R., Sánchez, E. (2013). Contrast Enhancement Mechanisms in the Retinothalamic Circuitry. In: Ferrández Vicente, J.M., Álvarez Sánchez, J.R., de la Paz López, F., Toledo Moreo, F.J. (eds) Natural and Artificial Models in Computation and Biology. IWINAC 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7930. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38637-4_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38637-4_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38636-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38637-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics