System-theoretical analysis of the Clare Bishop Area in the cat

The Clare Bishop Area (CBA) is a retinotopically organized cortical area in the cat brain connected to a great variety of visual areas in a very complex way (Fig. 1). Experimental analysis is difficult because of the following aspects: 1. As the distance from the retina increases, the signal combinations necessary to analyse the system become more and more specific. 2. Feedback loops cannot be opened, so an unequivocal identification of CBA cell properties is impossible. 3. The nonlinear character seems to have a great influence on signal processing. To circumvent these problems, specific signal combinations leading to a separation of input subsystems have been developed (Hoffmann and v. Seelen, 1979). On grounds of practical experience and theoretic considerations, the signal combinations are usually restricted to combinations of deterministic and stochastic signals when analysing the CBA. The different methods of measurement are applied successively, the linearizing ones being used first so that a rough classification is possible. If the nonlinear features of the system have little efect, they can be linearized in the theoretical description, if not, a model consisting of a sequence of a linear dynamic system and a nonlinear one with a static, polynomial feature must be used for analysis by parameter estimation. The experimental part of this publication deals with the determination of a number of cell properties. Some hypotheses on the function of the CBA are tested. THe results lead to the conclusion that further experiments, such as are discussed below, are necessary in the input subsystems, area 18 and 19. The experimental results of some other authors (Hubel and Wiesel, 1969; Turlejski, 1975; Turlejski and Michalski, 1975; Smith and Bauman, 1979; SPera and Bauman, 1979) are confirmed by the implicaions of the present results.