A Critical Comparison of Models for Orientation and Ocular Dominance Columns in the Striate Cortex

K. Schulten Beckman Institute University of Illinois Urbana, IL 61801, USA More than ten of the most prominent models for the structure and for the activity dependent formation of orientation and ocular dominance columns in the striate cort(>x have been evaluated. We implemented those models on parallel machines, we extensively explored parameter space, and we quantitatively compared model predictions with experimental data which were recorded optically from macaque striate cortex. In our contribution we present a summary of our results to date. Briefly, we find that (i) despite apparent differences, many models are based on similar principles and, consequently, make similar predictions, (ii) certain "pattern models" as well as the developmental "correlation-based learning" models disagree with the experimental data, and (iii) of the models we have investigated, "competitive Hebbian" models and the recent model of Swindale provide the best match with experimental data.