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Lagged Y cells in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

David N. Mastronarde ,
Allen L. Humphrey  and
Alan B. Saul
David N. Mastronarde
Affiliation:
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder
Allen L. Humphrey
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, Anatomy, and Cell Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh
Alan B. Saul
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, Anatomy, and Cell Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh
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Abstract

We report on the existence of lagged Y (YL) cells in the A laminae of the cat lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and on criteria for identifying them using visual and electrical stimulation. Like the lagged X (XL) cells described previously (Mastronarde, 1987a; Humphrey & Weller, 1988a), YL cells responded to a spot stimulus with an initial dip in firing and a delayed latency to discharge after spot onset, and an anomalously prolonged firing after spot offset. However, the cells received excitatory input from retinal Y rather than X afferents, and showed nonlinear spatial summation and other Y-like receptive-field properties. Three YL cells tested for antidromic activation from visual cortex were found to be relay cells, with long conduction latencies similar to those of XL cells.

Simultaneous recordings of a YL cell and its retinal Y afferents show striking parallels between lagged X and Y cells in retinogeniculate functional connectivity, and suggest that the YL-cell response profile reflects inhibitory processes occurring within the LGN. The YL cells comprised -5% of Y cells and -1% of all cells in the A laminae. Although infrequently encountered in the LGN, they may be roughly as numerous as Y cells in the retina, and hence could fulfill an important role in vision.

Keywords

InhibitionX cellsY cellsLagged cellsNonlagged cells
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , September 1991 , pp. 191 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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