Functional sub-regions for optic flow processing in the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian cortex of the cat

During locomotion, an observer sees a large and complex pattern of visual motion called optic flow. This phenomenon is characterized by elements in the environment accelerating and expanding as they move peripherally. In cats, previous studies have indicated that the posteromedial part of the lateral suprasylvian (PMLS) cortex may be involved in the processing of optic flow fields. We further addressed this issue by studying the importance of specific parameters of the optic flow patterns and investigating whether cell responses to these stimuli depend on receptive field (RF) location in the visual field. Results can be summarized as follows: approximately two-thirds of PMLS cells responded to optic flow fields and a subset of these (84/153) showed a clear direction selectivity for motion along the frontal axis. Of these units, the majority responded preferentially to expansion rather than contraction of the pattern. Cells' responses depend on RF location in the visual field. For centrally located RFs, tested both when the origin of motion was within the RF or at the area centralis, responses were generally comparable whether or not size or speed gradients were removed from the optic flow pattern. A different tendency was observed for peripherally located RFs. In general, these cells exhibited a preferred direction almost exclusively when the origin of motion was placed at the area centralis, and neuronal discharges and direction selectivity for many of them were reduced when the optic flow cues were removed from the pattern. The results of this study suggest that there may be functional differences in response properties between PMLS cells located in the central and peripheral parts of the visual field that may reflect a specialization of the PMLS cortex in optic flow processing.