Computations in the vertebrate retina: gain enhancement, differentiation and motion discrimination
- Creators
- Koch, Christof
- Poggio, Tomaso
- Torre, Vincent
Abstract
An understanding of brain function will ultimately require an understanding of the elementary information processing operations performed by synapses, membranes and neurons. Such knowledge, in addition to its intrinsic interest, will be instrumental for a full comprehension of the algorithms and computational procedures used by the brain to solve visual and other perceptual problems. The vertebrate retina is a very attractive model system for approaching the question of the information processing role of biological mechanisms of nerve cells. The retina provides the visual input to the brain and is its main interface with the outside world. Its anatomy and physiology are relatively well known. We also have a fairly good idea of some of the information processing operations, i.e., the computations, performed by the retina. A complete circuit diagram of the retina is not available, but it is now possible to identify a few simple computations that the retina performs and to relate them to specific biophysical mechanisms and circuit elements on the basis of theoretical work, computer simulations and experimental data. In this paper we consider three operations carried out by most retinae: amplification, temporal differentiation and computation of the direction of motion of visual patterns.
Additional Information
Copyright © 1986 Elsevier B.V. Available online 24 March 2003. This work was supported by the Sloan Foundation, by Whitaker College at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and by a grant from the Office of Naval Research, Engineering Psychology Division to TP. We acknowledge helpful discussion concerning direction selectivity with Lisa Mistler and especially Norberto Grzywacs. Frank Amthor kindly provided the data for the reconstructed cell shown in Figs 5 and 6. David Copenhagen kindly provided Fig. 1. Thanks to Linda Ardrey for drawing the figures, and to Frank Am thor, David Copenhagen and John Dowling for commenting on the manuscript.Attached Files
Accepted Version - AIM-914.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 40432
- DOI
- 10.1016/0166-2236(86)90060-3
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20130816-103204713
- Sloan Foundation
- Whitaker College at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Office of Naval Research, Engineering Psychology Division
- Created
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2008-01-26Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Koch Laboratory (KLAB)
- Other Numbering System Name
- CBIP Paper
- Other Numbering System Identifier
- 019