S. Sobotka et Jl. Ringo, STIMULUS-SPECIFIC ADAPTATION IN EXCITED BUT NOT IN INHIBITED CELLS ININFEROTEMPORAL CORTEX OF MACAQUE, Brain research, 646(1), 1994, pp. 95-99
Many cells in inferotemporal cortex respond more actively to a novel p
resentation than to a subsequent re-presentation of the same image, ex
hibiting stimulus specific adaptation (SSA). Previously, analysis of t
his adaptation was limited to visually excited cells, excluding visual
ly inhibited cells. In the present experiment we studied 654 cells in
four macaques performing visual tasks. Strong SSA (P < 0.0001) was obs
erved in those cells which were excited by visual stimuli. This adapta
tion was also seen in the subset of such cells which, though excited b
y visual stimuli, failed to show visual specificity in their responses
. Interestingly, no SSA (P > 0.1) was observed in the group of cells i
nhibited by visual stimuli. Furthermore, most inhibited cells failed t
o show visual specificity. This lack of visual specificity and SSA sug
gests that the visually inhibited cells have a limited role in the det
ailed information processing of visual perception and memory activated
by the tasks used in the present experiments.