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ABSTRACT The trichromatic primate retina parses the colour content of a visual scene into ‘red/green’ and ‘blue/yellow’ representations1,2. Cortical circuits must combine the information
encoded in these colour-opponent signals to reconstruct the full range of perceived colours3. Red/green and blue/yellow inputs are relayed by the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of thalamus
to primary visual cortex (V1), so understanding how cortical circuits transform these signals requires understanding how LGN inputs to V1 are organized. Here we report direct recordings
from LGN afferent axons in muscimol-inactivated V1. We found that blue/yellow afferents terminated exclusively in superficial cortical layers 3B and 4A, whereas red/green afferents were
encountered only in deeper cortex, in lower layer 4C. We also describe a distinct cortical target for ‘blue-OFF’ cells, whose afferents terminated in layer 4A and seemed patchy in
organization. The more common ‘blue-ON’ afferents were found in 4A as well as lower layer 2/3. Chromatic information is thus conveyed to V1 by parallel, anatomically segregated
colour-opponent systems, to be combined at a later stage of the colour circuit. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your
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* Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS CHROMATIC MICROMAPS IN PRIMARY VISUAL CORTEX Article Open access
19 April 2021 LINEAR AND NONLINEAR CHROMATIC INTEGRATION IN THE MOUSE RETINA Article Open access 26 March 2021 THE NEURAL ORIGIN FOR ASYMMETRIC CODING OF SURFACE COLOR IN THE PRIMATE VISUAL
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M. S cone contributions to the magnocellular visual pathway in macaque monkey. _Neuron_ 35, 1135–1146 (2002) Article CAS Google Scholar Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank D.
Ringach for providing software used for visual stimulation, spike sorting, and some data analysis; E. J. Chichilnisky for help with stimulus calibration and design; and E. J. Chichilnisky
and G. Horwitz for a critical reading of the manuscript. We also thank S. Tye for surgical assistance. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, The
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California, 92037, USA Soumya Chatterjee & Edward M. Callaway * Neuroscience Program, University of
California, 92093, California, San Diego, USA Soumya Chatterjee & Edward M. Callaway Authors * Soumya Chatterjee View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed
Google Scholar * Edward M. Callaway View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Soumya Chatterjee. ETHICS
DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTARY FIGURE (JPG 206 KB) RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS
Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Chatterjee, S., Callaway, E. Parallel colour-opponent pathways to primary visual cortex. _Nature_ 426, 668–671 (2003).
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02167 Download citation * Received: 16 June 2003 * Accepted: 15 October 2003 * Issue Date: 11 December 2003 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02167 SHARE
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