Dynamics of Temporal Integration in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus.

Before visual information from the retina reaches primary visual cortex (V1), it is dynamically filtered by the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus, the first location within the visual hierarchy at which nonretinal structures can significantly influence visual processing. To explore the form and dynamics of geniculate filtering we used data from monosynpatically connected pairs of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and LGN relay cells in the cat that, under anesthetized conditions, were stimulated with binary white noise and/or drifting sine-wave gratings to train models of increasing complexity to predict which RGC spikes were relayed to cortex, what we call "relay status." In addition, we analyze and compare a smaller dataset recorded in the awake state to assess how anesthesia might influence our results.

Learning by subtraction: Hippocampal activity and effects of ethanol during the acquisition and performance of response sequences.

Learning is believed to be reflected in the activity of the hippocampus. However, neural correlates of learning have been difficult to characterize because hippocampal activity is integrated with ongoing behavior. To address this issue, male rats (n = 5) implanted with electrodes (n = 14) in the CA1 subfield responded during two tasks within a single test session.

The multifunctional lateral geniculate nucleus.

Providing the critical link between the retina and visual cortex, the well-studied lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) has stood out as a structure in search of a function exceeding the mundane 'relay'. For many mammals, it is structurally impressive: Exquisite lamination, sophisticated microcircuits, and blending of multiple inputs suggest some fundamental transform. This impression is bolstered by the fact that numerically, the retina accounts for a small fraction of its input.

Retinogeniculate transmission in wakefulness.

Despite popular belief that the primary function of the thalamus is to "gate" sensory inputs by state, few studies have attempted to directly characterize the efficacy of such gating in the awake, behaving animal. I measured the efficacy of retinogeniculate transmission in the awake cat by taking advantage of the fact that many neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) are dominated by a single retinal input, and that this input produces a distinct event known as the S-potential. Retinal input failed to produce an LGN action potential half of the time.

Interspike interval analysis of retinal ganglion cell receptive fields.

The interspike interval (ISI) preceding a retinal spike has a strong influence on whether retinal spikes will drive postsynaptic responses in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). This ISI-based filtering of retinal spikes could, in principle, be used as a mechanism for processing visual information en route from retina to cortex; however, this form of processing has not been previously explored. Using a white noise stimulus and reverse correlation analysis, we compared the receptive fields associated with retinal spikes over a range of ISIs (0-120 ms).

Distinct properties of stimulus-evoked bursts in the lateral geniculate nucleus.

Neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus produce spikes that can be classified as burst spikes and tonic spikes. Although burst spikes are generally associated with states of sleep and drowsiness, bursts may also play an important role in sensory processing. This study explores the stimulus properties that evoke burst and tonic spikes and examines the reliability of LGN neurons to produce visually driven bursts.