SELECTIVE RESPONSES OF VISUAL CORTICAL-CELLS DO NOT DEPEND ON SHUNTING INHIBITION
SELECTIVE RESPONSES OF VISUAL CORTICAL-CELLS DO NOT DEPEND ON SHUNTING INHIBITION
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DOI：
10.1038/332642a0
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发表时间：
1988-04-14
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
WHITTERIDGE, D
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
DOUGLAS, RJ;MARTIN, KAC;WHITTERIDGE, D
Theoretical analyses of the electrical behaviour of the highly branched processes of nerve cells has focused attention on the possibility that single cells perform, complex logical operations rather than simply summing their synaptic inputs1–3. In particular, it has been suggested that the orientation and direction selectivity of cells in the visual cortex result from the action of a nonlinear 'shunting' inhibition that emulates an AND–NOT logical operation4. The characteristic biophysical feature of this proposed inhibitory mechanism is that it evokes a large and relatively sustained increase in the conductance of the neuronal membrane while leaving the membrane potential unaffected. This shunting mechanism contrasts with linear 'summative' inhibition in which conductance changes are less prominent, and inhibition is achieved by hyperpolarization of the membrane potential1. In a direct experimental test of the hypothesis that the selectivity of visual cortical neurons depends on shunting inhibition we found no evidence for the large conductance changes predicted by the theory.
