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H V Hirsch

Publications and source records attributed to H V Hirsch.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

A quantitative study of the occurrence and distribution of cytoplasmic laminated bodies in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the normal adult cat.

The proportion of neurons containing cytoplasmic laminated bodies (CLB) in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of normal cats was determined by using a new method which permitted examination of large areas of this nucleus. Near the medial border of the dLGN (projection of the area centralis) in the A-laminae 30--60% of the neurons contain CLBs. Within the same region in lamina B only 10--30% of the nerve cells contain CLBs. In the monocular segment (MS) of lamina A 27--48% of the nerve cells contain CLBs. In the medial interlaminar nucleus (MIN) 25% of the neurons contain CLBs; these cells were distributed throughout the medio-lateral extent of the MIN. CLBs were also observed in neurons of the perigeniculate nucleus (PN) and in nerve cells embedded in the fiber sheet separating the dLGN from the pulvinar complex. The distribution of cells containing CLBs is extremely variable in all portions of the dLGN studied. The data presented in this paper indicate that CLB-containing cells in the dLGN may not be X-cells, as has been suggested by LeVay and Ferster ('77) because: (1) the distribution of neurons containing CLBs in lamina A does not match the distribution of X-cells recorded in this lamina; (2) some nerve cells in the MIN contain CLBs but very few X-cells have been found in this region.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Physiological consequences for the cat's visual cortex of effectively restricting early visual experience with oriented contours.

1. The early visual experience of nine cats was restricted to viewing horizontal or vertical lines inside opaque goggles. 2. When the kittens were 3-4 mo old, extracellular recordings were made in the primary visual cortex. To obtain a representative sample of cortical cells, units were studied at regularly spaced intervals along the course of electrode penetrations traveling oblique to the cortical surface. An automated assessment of preferred orientation using a computer-driven optical display was employed, and during the recording session the experimenters did not know which orientation(s) each animal had viewed in early life. 3. In the cats that viewed horizontal lines with one eye and vertical lines with the other during rearing, two major findings of previous workers (14) were confirmed. First, a majority of units were not selective for orientation. Second, units with preferred orientations near vertical tended to be activated exclusively by the eye that had viewed vertical, and likewise for horizontal. 4. In cats that viewed lines of the same orientation with both eyes during rearing, a substantially smaller proportion of units were selective for orientation; the preferred orientations of these units also tended to match the orientation to which the cats had been exposed. 5. Portions of some electrode penetrations showed an orderly arrangement of cells according to preferred orientation similar to that seen in normal cats, but with regions over which only nonselective cells were found. Many penetrations appeared less orderly. 6. The results are consistent with a role for early visual experience in maintaining the responsiveness and innate selectivity of cortical neurons, although they cannot entirely rule out the possibility that experience may alter or determine the preferred orientation of some cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Receptive-field properties of neurons in different laminae of visual cortex of the cat.

1. Receptive-field properties of neurons in the different layers of the visual cortex of normal adult cats were analyzed quantitatively. Neurons were classified into one of two groups: 1) S-cells, which have discrete on- and/or off-regions in their receptive fields and possess inhibitory side bands; 2) C-cells, which do not have discrete on- and off-regions in their receptive fields but display an on-off response to flashing stimuli. Neurons of this type rarely display side-band inhibition. 2. As a group, S-cells display lower relative degrees of binocularity and are more selective for stimulus orientation than C-cells. In addition, within a given lamina the S-cells have smaller receptive fields, lower cutoff velocities, lower peak responses to visual stimulation, and lower spontaneous activity than do the C-cells. 3. S-cells in all layers of the cortex display similar orientation sensitivities, mean spontaneous discharge rates, peak response to visual stimulation, and degrees of binocularity. 4. Many of the receptive-field properties of cortical cells vary with laminar location. Receptive-field sizes and cutoff velocities of S-cells and of C-cells are greater in layers V and VI than in layers II-IV. For S-cells, preferred velocities are also greater in layers V and VI than in layers II-IV. Furthermore, C-cells in layers V and VI display high mean spontaneous discharge rates, weak orientation preferences, high relative degrees of binocularity, and higher peak responses to visual stimulation when compared to C-cells in layers II and III. 5. The receptive-field properties of cells in layers V-VI of the striate cortex suggest that most neurons that have their somata in these laminae receive afferents from LGNd Y-cells. Hence, our results suggest that afferents from LGNd Y-cells may play a major part in the cortical control of subcortical visual functions.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1977

Effects of early experience upon orientation sensitivity and binocularity of neurons in visual cortex of cats.

The class of neurons within the visual cortex of normal adult cats that has the smallest receptive fields (less than or equal to 2.25 degrees2) and that responds only to low rates of stimulus motion (less than or equal to 50 degrees / sec) responds preferentially to lines oriented about either the horizontal axis (+/-22.5 degrees) or the vertical axis (+/-22.5 degrees). In animals reared without exposure to patterned visual stimulation, many of these cells display orientation preferences but are activated monocularly. In contrast, in normal animals, neurons that have larger receptive fields or that respond to higher rates of stimulus motion do not exhibit a similar bias in the distribution of their orientation preferences. Cells of this type, studied in animals reared without exposure to patterned visual stimuli, are activated binocularly but do not display orientation preferences.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Cortical effect of early selective exposure to diagonal lines.

Neurons in the visual cortex that respond preferentially to diagonal contours are present only in cats exposed to diagonal lines early in life. In contrast, cells that prefer horizontal or vertical contours are found following exposure to horizontal, to vertical, and to diagonal lines. Such cells do not require a specific visual input for maintenance or for development; neurons responding preferentially to diagonal lines do.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1970

Visual experience modifies distribution of horizontally and vertically oriented receptive fields in cats.

Cats were raised from birth with one eye viewing horizontal lines and one eye viewing vertical lines. Elongated receptive fields of cells in the visual cortex were horizontally or vertically oriented-no oblique fields were found. Units with horizontal fields were activated only by the eye exposed to horizontal lines; units with vertical fields only by the eye exposed to vertical lines.

Animals↗