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Inhibitory interaction in the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus

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Summary

Spike activities of optic tract fibers and corresponding relay cells were recorded simultaneously in layers A and A1 of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat. Light stimuli of various diameters were shone into the receptive field center of these unit pairs and their input/output ratios were determined. An increase of the stimulus size leads to an impairment of the input/output ratio in on-center and off-center relay cells. This suppressive effect has approximately the same latency as the excitatory response.

Intracellular recordings suggest that the inhibitory effect of the surround is due to a postsynaptic process. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials occur during and — under certain stimulus conditions —before the excitatory response. The short latency of these IPSPs suggests that they result from the activity of adjacent units with the same RF characteristics as the recorded neuron. This inhibitory input is not restricted to the RF periphery but may also be activated by stimulation within the RF center. Most neurons are also inhibited by units with antagonistic center responses.

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Author notes

  1. Ernst Pöppel

    Present address: Department of Psychology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 02139, Cambridge, Mass., USA

  2. Otto Creutzfeldt

    Present address: Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische, Chemie, 34, Göttingen-Nikolausberg

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, West Germany

    Wolf Singer, Ernst Pöppel & Otto Creutzfeldt

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  1. Wolf Singer
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  2. Ernst Pöppel
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  3. Otto Creutzfeldt
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Additional information

During the period of this research Ernst Pöppel held a training grant of the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk, Az. 11 1015.

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Singer, W., Pöppel, E. & Creutzfeldt, O. Inhibitory interaction in the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus. Exp Brain Res 14, 210–226 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234800

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