Foveal striate cortex of behaving monkey: single-neuron responses to square-wave gratings during fixation of gaze

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Abstract
Activity of neurons in foveal striate cortex was recorded in monkeys trained to fixate a luminous spot. During fixation, stationary or moving square-wave gratings were presented in the central 4.degree. of the visual field. More than 3/4 of the 369 neurons studied responded to gratings, many of them to both moving and stationary patterns. All responsive neurons exhibited spatial frequency selectivity. The majority also exhibited orientation selectivity and, of these, about 1/4 were directionally sensitive. One group of neurons showed stimulus-synchronized temporal modulation in responses to moving gratings of all effective spatial frequencies; another showed little or no temporal modulation over much of the range of effective spatial frequencies. Neurons of the 1st group often responded weakly or not at all to stationary gratings, whereas those of the 2nd group often responded as well to stationary as to moving gratings. The 2 groups may play distinct roles in the analysis of the temporal and spatial structure of visual stimuli.