Spatial Characteristics of Cooperative Interactions in the Striate Cortex

We explored how contour information in primary visual cortex might be embedded in the simultaneous activity of multiple cells recorded with a 100-electrode array. Synchronous activity in cat visual cortex was more selective and predictable in discriminating between drifting grating and concentric ring stimuli than changes in firing rate. Synchrony was found even between cells with wholly different orientation preferences when their receptive fields were circularly aligned, and membership in synchronous groups was orientationand curvature-dependent. The existence of synchrony between cocircular cells reinforces its role as a general mechanism for contour integration and shape detection, as predicted by association field concepts. Our data suggest that cortical synchrony results from common and synchronous input from ealier visual areas and that it could serve to shape extrastriate response selectivity.