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Published January 1, 1993 | public
Journal Article

Selectivity for polar, hyperbolic, and Cartesian gratings in macaque visual cortex

Abstract

The neural basis of pattern recognition is a central problem in visual neuroscience. Responses of single cells were recorded in area V4 of macaque monkey to three classes of periodic stimuli that are based on spatial derivative operators: polar (concentric and radial), hyperbolic, and conventional sinusoidal (Cartesian) gratings. Of 118 cells tested, 16 percent responded significantly more to polar or hyperbolic (non-Cartesian) gratings than to Cartesian gratings and only 8 percent showed a significant preference for Cartesian gratings. Among cells selective for non-Cartesian gratings, those that preferred concentric gratings were most common. Cells selective for non-Cartesian gratings may constitute an important intermediate stage in pattern recognition and the representation of surface shape.

Additional Information

© 1993 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 25 August 1992; accepted 6 November 1992. Supported by National Institutes of Health grants EY02091 and T32NS07251 and by Office of Naval Research grant N00014-89-J1192. We thank W. Press, B. Olshausen, E. Connor, T. Coogan, C. H. Anderson, and B. Julesz for comments and suggestions.

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023