Notes: Summary Steadily illuminated surrounds, remote from the receptive field centre, are shown to affect the responses of primate visual cells. Intensity-response curves of cells of the macaque lateral geniculate nucleus were measured using a successive contrast paradigm where chromatic or achromatic stimuli were presented in alternation with a white adaptation field of constant luminance. Adding white surround annuli around stimuli and adaptation field shifted the intensity-response curves to higher intensity ranges. Since response curves can be non-monotonic, this remote surround effect can result in an increase or decrease in responsiveness (facilitation or suppression) dependent on stimulus intensity. Steady surrounds, remote from the receptive field centre, thus control cell sensitivity and responses by means of simultaneous contrast.

Notes: Summary We report on experiments which were undertaken in an attempt to clarify mechanisms underlying the contrast effects of chromatic surround illumination on spectral responsiveness of cells in the parvocellular layers of the LGN (P-LGN-cells), that had been demonstrated under standard conditions in the preceding companion paper. The experiments were done in anesthetized macaques (Macaca fascicularis). In some neurons, S-potentials were recorded together with the post-synaptic action potentials, and all effects seen in P-LGN-cells were present already in their retinal afferents indicating their retinal origine. The responsiveness of the cells for center stimuli of different wavelengths and during illumination of the receptive field center or the outer surround was determined. Continuous outer surround illumination alered maintained dicharge rate (MDR), sensitivity and gain of P-LGN and retinal ganglion cells in the same way and empirically not distinguishable from direct illumination of the receptive field. Responses to surround flashes showed the same dependence on spectral composition as those to center flashes. Adaptation and excitation caused by outer surround illumination (inner diameter 5°, outer diameter 20°) were, in the average, ten times weaker than those exerted by light of the same spectral composition shone directly into the receptive field. Surround effects decreased proportional to r-2. Excitation by outer surround flashes was reduced by adaptation of the receptive field center in the same manner as responses to center flashes. The findings indicate that outer surround light has a direct excitatory and adaptive effect on the excitatory or inhibitory cones feeding into the receptive field. This indicates that straylight from the surround into the center could be responsible for the adaptive and excitatory effects of surround illumination. The straylight fraction from the remote surround into the receptive field must be higher, however, than that estimated from the psychophysically determined point spread function. It comes closer to earlier direct straylight measurements in excised eyes, but may be enhanced by chromatic aberration. If a surround of excitatory colour is flashed simultaneously with an excitatory center stimulus, additivity of center and surround excitation is observed only at low center intensities, while at higher center intensities the gain for center excitation is reduced similar to adaptive gain control. This could be explained by lateral interaction through horizontal connections in the retina, which decays within seconds, while adaptation of the cones feeding into the receptive field center is fully effective only after about 3 s. Our findings therefore suggest a two stage model for surround effects, a fast one mediated through horizontal connections controlling the gain of receptorbipolar transmission and a slow one through adaptation by straylight and controlling receptor gain. The fast process is receptor unspecific, i.e. pooling activity from all receptor types, while the second one is receptor specific. During real seeing both processes are simultaneous and complement each other because of continuous eye movements. Perceptual darkness and colour induction by remote surrounds are consistent with this model, which can also be applied to colour constancy. WM-cells (Yellow-minus-blue) show peculiar properties during surround or center illumination with blue light, suggestng an opponent mechanism different from that of other P-LGN-cells.

Notes: Summary We recorded from single neurons in the parvocellular layers of the lateral geniculate body of anesthetized monkeys. Spectral response curves of parvocellular neurons depended on the luminance ratio between the chromatic stimuli and achromatic background. From response/intensity curves, we determined the relative luminance between a coloured and an achromatic (white) light at which a given cell became non-responsive (critical luminance ratio, CLR). The spectral dependence of the CLRs of narrow (N) and wide band (W) cells with opponent receptor input showed characteristic differences. The activity of W-cells increased with luminance increase of a white light and of a coloured light in the specific spectral region of the cell (yellow-red for the long wave length sensitive WL-, and yellow-green-blue for the short wave length sensitive WS-cells), while N-cells were activated by their specific spectral light (blue for NS-cells, red for NL-cells) and by a luminance decrease of achromatic white. N-cells discriminate best between their characteristic colour and white at luminance ratios below their respective CLR, while W-cells distinguish best between a light of their characteristic colour and white at chromatic/ achromatic luminance ratios above their respective CLR. Yellow sensitive W-cells with a narrow spectral sensitivity peaking around 570 nm and with only a small or no response to white light, could enable distinction between white and yellow of similar luminance. The findings are consistent with the opponency model of spectrally sensitive cells in the LGB. We discuss their implications for colour coding by parvocellular cells. N- and W-cells appear to behave complementary with respect to luminance information (N-cells may be compared to the cat's off-cells, W-cells to on-cells). S- and L-cells are complementary with respect to colour. The yellow sensitive WM-cells are critical for the discrimination of yellow and white, while cells with excitatory cone input from blue and red cones (W-SL-cells) may aid the perception of purple. The fact that, at different relative luminance ratios between a chromatic stimulus and a white background, the whole family of parvocellular cells is involved differently in coding for colour, may explain the different appearance of colours against a white background at different luminance ratios and the perception of induced colours.

Notes: Summary Periodic oscillation of a luminance grating imaged upon the peripheral retina reduces the threshold visibility of a foveally presented test spot. This new effect has been named the “jerk effect”. The present investigation is concerned with the effect of a single jerk of the remote grating on threshold sensitivity. Foveal sensitivity changes were measured for different delays between grating jerk and test spot presentation. For a 0.38 °, 100 ms test spot, long-range transient inhibition was found for all delays, with a maximal effect between 0 and 30 ms delay. By combining the jerk effect with the Westheimer paradigm, both facilitatory and inhibitory long-range effects could be demonstrated. For facilitation to occur, it was necessary that the steady background extended into the sensitization zone of the Westheimer area. Inhibition was the only result for smaller backgrounds. Reduced visibility is consistent with the hypothesis that peripheral transient mechanisms inhibit foveal sustained mechanisms. Enhanced visibility indicates that thresholds depend on an interaction between foveal-sustained and foveal-transient units. Transient peripheral stimulation and steady backgrounds of increasing diameter change the balance of inhibitory and facilitatory processes between these units.