A binocular model for the simple cell

We authors propose a mathematical model for simple cell binocular response. It comprises two Gabor-type receptive fields (RF) having the same RF center, preferred spatial frequency, and preferred orientation. The model integrates the equally weighted signals from both eyes and performs a threshold operation.Poggio and Fischer (1977) classified binocular disparity cells in the striate cortex into four groups: tuned excitatory (TE), tuned inhibitory (TI), near, and far cells. They also found that most of the TE cells are ocularly balanced and that the other three types are usually unbalanced. This model can imitate these four types of disparity sensitivities and their ocular dominance tendency. We perform model fittings to Poggio's data using the “simulated annealing” method and discuss parameter dependence of the model's response. The model can also respond with exceptional disparity sensitivity: i.e., flat type, alternating type, and intermediate type.

[1]  D H Hubel,et al.  A re-examination of stereoscopic mechanisms in area 17 of the cat. , 1973, The Journal of physiology.

[2]  C. D. Gelatt,et al.  Optimization by Simulated Annealing , 1983, Science.

[3]  R. D. Freeman,et al.  Stimulus specificity of binocular cells in the cat's visual cortex: ocular dominance and the matching of left and right eyes , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[4]  S Marcelja,et al.  Mathematical description of the responses of simple cortical cells. , 1980, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[5]  D. Ferster.  A comparison of binocular depth mechanisms in areas 17 and 18 of the cat visual cortex , 1981, The Journal of physiology.

[6]  G. Poggio,et al.  Stereoscopic mechanisms in monkey visual cortex: binocular correlation and disparity selectivity , 1988, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[7]  I. Ohzawa,et al.  The binocular organization of simple cells in the cat's visual cortex. , 1986, Journal of neurophysiology.

[8]  G. Poggio,et al.  Mechanisms of static and dynamic stereopsis in foveal cortex of the rhesus monkey , 1981, The Journal of physiology.

[9]  R. D. Freeman,et al.  A quantitative study of the classification and stability of ocular dominance in the cat's visual cortex , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[10]  T. Poggio,et al.  The analysis of stereopsis. , 1984, Annual review of neuroscience.

[11]  Dennis Gabor,et al.  Theory of communication , 1946 .

[12]  J. Movshon,et al.  Spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity of neurones in areas 17 and 18 of the cat's visual cortex. , 1978, The Journal of physiology.

[13]  G. Poggio,et al.  Binocular interaction and depth sensitivity in striate and prestriate cortex of behaving rhesus monkey. , 1977, Journal of neurophysiology.

[14]  S. Levay,et al.  Ocular dominance and disparity coding in cat visual cortex , 1988, Visual Neuroscience.

[15]  P. Schiller,et al.  Quantitative studies of single-cell properties in monkey striate cortex. III. Spatial frequency. , 1976, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  J. Daugman.  Two-dimensional spectral analysis of cortical receptive field profiles , 1980, Vision Research.

[17]  D. Field,et al.  The structure and symmetry of simple-cell receptive-field profiles in the cat’s visual cortex , 1986, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences.