SPATIAL AND SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THE GOLDFISH RETINA.
Item
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Title
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SPATIAL AND SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THE GOLDFISH RETINA.
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Identifier
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AAI8801682
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identifier
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8801682
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Creator
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BILOTTA, JOSEPH.
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Contributor
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Israel Abramov
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Date
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1987
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Physiological
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Abstract
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Most studies of retinal ganglion cells have concentrated on either spatial or spectral properties, even though the same cells are involved in processing both types of information. This probject examined the relationship of spatial and spectral processing in goldfish ganglion cells. Responses of single ganglion cells from an excised, isolated retina were recorded while various spatial and spectral stimuli were presented to the retina. Each cell was classified by its spatial properties (e.g., linearity of spatial summation and spatial contrast sensitivity (S-CSF)) and its spectral properties (spectral class or long-wavelength center response and spectral opponency/nonopponency).;Results show that X-, Y-, and W-like cells exist in the goldfish retina. Goldfish X-like cells, like cat X-cells, possess a null point, while Y-like cells respond with a frequency doubling at all spatial positions at high spatial frequencies; W-like cells' properties were similar to the "not-X" cells found in the eel retina. These spatial classes were independent of spectral class and spectral opponency.;The shape of the cell's S-CSF depended on various stimulus parameters (e.g., stimulus drift rate) and on the intrinsic properties of its receptive field components. The S-CSFs of X- and Y-like cells also differed as a function of spectral class and spectral opponency. These differences can be explained by differences in receptive field center size across spectral class and by antagonistic interactions between the center's chromatic mechanisms in spectrally opponent cells. Sensitivity to a drifting grating varied as a function of stimulus orientation and direction. Some X-like cells and virtually all Y- and W-like cells displayed orientation tuning; however, this tuning depended on the spatial frequency of the stimulus. Many Y-like cells and all W-like cells displayed direction selectivity; this also varied with stimulus spatial frequency but in a different fashion than orientation tuning.;In conclusion, goldfish ganglion cells, like those in mammalian retina, can be subdivided into X-, Y-, and W-like cells based on their spatial summation properties. Differences in S-CSFs across stimulus variations and the cell's spectral properties can be explained by a "difference of two Gaussian distributions" receptive field model with slight modifications.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
