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A centrifugally controlled circuit in the avian retina and its possible role in visual attention switching

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Peter G.H. Clarke ,
Marcel Gyger  and
Stefan Catsicas
Peter G.H. Clarke
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell Biology and Morphology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Marcel Gyger
Affiliation:
Nestec Ltd., Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland
Stefan Catsicas
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell Biology and Morphology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
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Abstract

The isthmo-optic nucleus (ION) is the main source of efferents to the retina in birds. Isthmo-optic neurons project in topographical order on amacrine cells in the ventral parts of the retina, and a subclass of these known as proprioretinal neurons project onto the dorsal retina. We propose that, through the intermediary of the amacrine target cells, activity in the isthmo-optic pathway excites ganglion cells locally in the ventral retina but inhibits those in dorsal regions. This circuit would thereby mediate centrifugally controlled switches in attention between the dorsal retina, involved in feeding, and the more ventral parts, involved in scanning for predators. This hypothesis accounts for a wide range of disparate data from behavior, comparative anatomy, endocrinology, hodology, and neurophysiology.

Keywords

AttentionBirdsCentrifugal fibersIsthmo-optic nucleusVision
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 13 , Issue 6 , November 1996 , pp. 1043 - 1048
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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