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Asymmetries in ON and OFF visual pathways of humans revealed using contrast-evoked cortical potentials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Vance Zemon ,
James Gordon  and
Janet Welch
Vance Zemon
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Biophysics, The Rockefeller University and Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York
James Gordon
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Biophysics, The Rockefeller University and Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York
Janet Welch
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Biophysics, The Rockefeller University and Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York
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Abstract

Positive- and negative-contrast stimuli yield the perceptions of brightness and darkness, respectively, and are processed separately by ON and OFF neural pathways. The properties of these morphologically and pharmacologically distinct subsystems were measured in humans by recording visual evoked potentials (VEPs). These electrical responses from the visual cortex were elicited by novel positive- and negative-contrast stimuli, designed to emphasize, selectively, contributions from ON and OFF pathways. Results revealed differential processing of the two types of contrast information, suggesting asymmetries in ON and OFF subsystems; OFF subsystems have finer spatial tuning and greater contrast gain than ON subsystems. These VEPs may be useful in diagnosing neurological disorders that involve primarily one subsystem.

Keywords

Visual evoked potentialOn- and off-center pathwaysBrightness and darkness perceptionContrast gain
Type
Short Communication
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , January 1988 , pp. 145 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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