Probing mechanistic models for the retinogeniculate
circuit in cat using drifting gratings
A. Kocbach,
Physics, ITF, Agricultural University of Norway, 1432 Ås, Norway
G.T. Einevoll,
Physics, ITF, Agricultural University of Norway, 1432 Ås, Norway
P. Heggelund,
Department of Neurophysiology, University of Oslo, 0381 Oslo, Norway
Neurocomputing 38-40, 727-732 (2001)
Abstract
Experiments with drifting gratings are widespread in the study of
neurons in the retina and dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN).
As an alternative to descriptive modeling based on the difference-of-Gaussians model,
we show how mechanistic models for the retinogeniculate circuitry can be tested against
drifting-grating data. As an example of this approach we (i) derive mechanistic
expressions for the geniculate contrast gain for X-type relay cells in
dLGN for a set of models with direct feedforward excitation and feedforward
inhibition via intrageniculate interneurons, and
(ii) compare the expressions with example data from the literature.