Visual pattern discrimination at the neuronal and behavioral level: an electrophysiological study on the dorsal lateral geniculate body in freely moving cat

Abstract

Cats were trained in a go-no ga visual pattern discrimination task with parallel recordings of single unit activity from the dorsal lateral geniculate body (dLGB). The poststimulus time histograms (PSTHs) evoked by the two different visual patterns were compared for each unit. The go-stimulus, which was rewarded by food, evoked a longer lasting tonic like neuronal response in comparison to the responses evoked by the no go-stimulus which was not rewarded. No differences could be observed regarding the latencies of the first excitatory peak of the PSTHs. The results indicate a modulatory influence upon dLGB unit activity depending on the biological relevance of the stimulus.