Dose-dependent changes in orientation amplitude maps in the cat visual cortex after propofol bolus injections.

A general intravenous anesthetic propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is widely used in clinical, veterinary practice and animal experiments. It activates gamma- aminobutyric acid (GABAa) receptors. Though the cerebral cortex is one of the major targets of propofol action, no study of dose dependency of propofol action on cat visual cortex was performed yet.

Dynamics of Stability of Orientation Maps Recorded with Optical Imaging.

Orientation selectivity is an important feature of visual cortical neurons. Optical imaging of the visual cortex allows for the generation of maps of orientation selectivity that reflect the activity of large populations of neurons. To estimate the statistical significance of effects of experimental manipulations, evaluation of the stability of cortical maps over time is required.

[The Pulvinar of the Cat: Structural and Functional Organization and the Role in Cognitive Processes].

The present review is devoted to modern knowledge about a structure and function of the cat's lateral posterior-pulvinar complex of the thalamus (LP-P). The LP-P is a subcortical structure belonging to visual system. This complex appears in phylogenesis simultaneously with lateral geniculate body and visual cortex, develops structurally and in human, occupies about 1/3 of the thalamus.

Repetitive adaptation induces plasticity of spatial frequency tuning in cat primary visual cortex.

Sensory neurons display transient changes in their response properties following prolonged exposure to an appropriate stimulus (adaptation). In adult cat primary visual cortex, spatial frequency-selective neurons shift their preferred spatial frequency (SF) after being adapted to a non-preferred SF. In anesthetized cats prepared for electrophysiological recordings in the visual cortex, we applied a non-preferred spatial frequency for two successive periods of adaptation (a recovery and interval of ∼90 min separated both phases of adaptation) in order to determine if a first adaptation retained an influence on a second adaptation.

Adaptive behavior of neighboring neurons during adaptation-induced plasticity of orientation tuning in VI.

Background: Sensory neurons display transient changes of their response properties following prolonged exposure to an appropriate stimulus (adaptation). In adult cat primary visual cortex, orientation-selective neurons shift their preferred orientation after being adapted to a non-preferred orientation. The direction of those shifts, towards (attractive) or away (repulsive) from the adapter depends mostly on adaptation duration.