RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Contrast and luminance gain control in the macaque’s lateral geniculate nucleus
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.08.29.505733
DO 10.1101/2022.08.29.505733
A1 R.T. Raghavan
A1 Jenna G. Kelly
A1 J. Michael Hasse
A1 Paul G. Levy
A1 Michael J. Hawken
A1 J. Anthony Movshon
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/08/31/2022.08.29.505733.1.abstract
AB In natural scenes, there is substantial variation in the mean and fluctuation of light levels (luminance and contrast). Retinal ganglion cells maintain their sensitivity despite this variation and their limited signaling bandwidth using two adaptive mechanisms, which control luminance and contrast gain. However, the signature of each mechanism and their interactions further downstream of the retina are unknown. We recorded neurons in the magnocellular and parvocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in anesthetized adult male macaques and characterized how they adapt to changes in contrast and luminance. As contrast increases, neurons in the magnocellular layers maintain sensitivity to high temporal frequency stimuli but attenuate sensitivity to low temporal-frequency stimuli. Neurons in the parvocellular layers do not adapt to changes in contrast. As luminance increases, magnocellular and parvocellular cells increase their sensitivity to high temporal frequency stimuli. Adaptation to luminance is independent of adaptation to contrast, as previously reported for LGN neurons in the cat. Our results are similar to those previously reported for macaque retinal ganglion cells, suggesting that adaptation to luminance and contrast result from two independent mechanisms that are retinal in origin.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.