Most objects in the normal visual environment vary in luminance and chromaticity, and are rarely differentiated solely by either brightness or color. Psychophysical studies using the simultaneously presentation of color-varying and luminance-varying stimuli indicate that there is a wide range of non-linear color-luminance interactions, but the nature and extent of chromatic and luminance interactions in early visual cortex remains unclear. The proposed experiments aim to determine whether these interactions occur in single neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of anesthetized, paralyzed macaque monkeys. The monkeys will be presented with drifting gratings containing a super-position of equiluminant color and luminance. The contrasts of the chromatic and the luminance components are varied independently, allowing for a complete parametric analysis of the effects of a broad range of chromatic and luminance contrasts. Spatial features, such as waveform, spatial frequency, and relative phase will be varied. This range of stimuli closely resembles the stimuli used in the psychophysical studies. It will therefore bee possible to determine whether responses as early as V1 show the same strong non-linear effects observed psychophysically. Control experiments in the lateral geniculate nucleus will verify the range of interactions that originate in V1. Histological reconstruction of each electrode penetration will allow cells to be classified according to their anatomical organization to determine trends among cells linked to the processing of color and luminance within the known V1 network hierarchy. Discerning the mechanisms involved in normal early cortical processing of color and luminance will enable us to correlate neurophysiological responses to perception. In addition, it will allow for a better understanding of the chromatic and spatial vision deficits facing many patients with cortical damage, aiding the development of better diagnostic tests for such visual deficits.
| Johnson, Elizabeth N; Hawken, Michael J; Shapley, Robert (2008) The orientation selectivity of color-responsive neurons in macaque V1. J Neurosci 28:8096-106 |
