Circuitry, architecture and functional dynamics of visual cortex

A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of cortical processing requires an examination of the relationships of cortical circuitry, cortical functional architecture and receptive field properties. Ultimately, this kind of analysis can be used to explore the neurobiological basis of psychophysics and perception. At the outset our studies were intended to account for the then known receptive field properties of cortical cells in terms of their underlying circuitry but, surprisingly, a good part of the cortical circuit appeared to be in violation of the principles of cortical architecture. This led us to explore the possibility of new, more complex properties of cortical cells. It has become increasingly possible to relate the responsive specificity of cortical cells and the circuitry underlying this specificity to the perceptual capabilities of the visual system by performing analogous experiments on single cells and in human psychophysics.