Temporal characteristics of responses to photic stimulation by single ganglion cells in the unopened eye of the cat.

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Abstract
Single-unit firing patterns of the small ganglion cells in the area centralis of the dark-adapted retina were studied in response to light spots in cats under light barbiturate anesthesia. Data were analyzed in terms of mean rate of firing and the average patterns of inter-spike intervals displayed as interval histograms and post stimulus time histograms. Responses to flashes of long duration showed 2 kinds of oscillatory firing. Steady-state responses of each unit to intermittent flashes were recorded over a wide range of light intensities and at each intensity over a series of flash frequencies extending beyond the critical fusion-frequency (CFF). Observations were made on the probability of firing at high flash frequencies, on the neurophysiological basis of Talbot''s law and the coding of information regarding levels of retinal illumination. Single-unit plots were made relating CFF and light intensity including the effect of light spot size and background illumination. The human CFF/intensity relationship was determined using the same apparatus and stimulus parameters as for the cat.

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