Retinal input to the nucleus of the optic tract of the cat assessed by antidromic activation of ganglion cells.

We have studied the physiological properties of ganglion cells in the retina of the cat. The experiments were designed to identify those ganglion cells which project to direction-selective cells in the nucleus of the optic tract (NOT), by demonstrating their antidromic activation at low threshold from an electrode in the NOT. These ganglion cells presumably provide the retinal drive to the optokinetic reflex. Altogether, 11 such ganglion cells were identified in a population of 578 cells studied. All 11 were W-cells, with slow-conducting axons. Five of the 11 had on-centre direction-selective receptive fields; the other 6 had a variety of receptive field patterns. Thus, on centre-selective cells form a much higher proportion of the retinal input to direction-selective cells in the NOT than of the overall ganglion cell population. However, their receptive field properties were too varied fully to account for the selectivity of NOT cells for horizontal stimulus movement. In summary the retinal input to the NOT appears to be formed principally or entirely by W-class ganglion cells, including many which are direction selective. It still seems necessary, however, to postulate, some non-retinal mechanism to account for all the receptive field properties of direction-selective NOT cells.