Spatial Frequency Maps in Cat Visual Cortex

Abstract

Neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) respond preferentially to stimuli with distinct orientations and spatial frequencies. Although the organization of orientation selectivity has been thoroughly described, the arrangement of spatial frequency (SF) preference in V1 is controversial. Several layouts have been suggested, including laminar, columnar, clustered, pinwheel, and binary (high and low SF domains). We have reexamined the cortical organization of SF preference by imaging intrinsic cortical signals induced by stimuli of various orientations and SFs. SF preference maps, produced from optimally oriented stimuli, were verified using targeted microelectrode recordings. We found that a wide range of SFs is represented independently and mostly continuously within V1. Domains with SF preferences at the extremes of the SF continuum were separated by no more than ¾ mm (conforming to the hypercolumn description of cortical organization) and were often found at pinwheel center singularities in the cortical map of orientation preference. The organization of cortical maps permits nearly all combinations of orientation and SF preference to be represented in V1, and the overall arrangement of SF preference in V1 suggests that SF-specific adaptation effects, found in psychophysical experiments, may be explained by local interactions within a given SF domain. By reanalyzing our data using a different definition of SF preference than is used in electrophysiological and psychophysical studies, we can reproduce the different SF organizations suggested by earlier studies.