Knudsen E I
J Neurosci. 1982 Sep;2(9):1177-94. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.02-09-01177.1982.
The receptive field properties and functional organization of visual and auditory responses were studied in the optic tectum of the barn owl (Tyto alba). Most units throughout the depth of the tectum responded to both visual and auditory stimuli. The entire visual field of each eye was represented topographically in the contralateral tectum. In the portion of the tectal map representing the zone of binocular vision, 50% of the superficial layer units and 100% of the deep; layer units were driven binocularly. The representation of the frontal binocular region of space was greatly expanded in the map; the average magnification factor was 3 times greater for the frontal binocular zone than for the monocular zone. The responses of the superficial and deep tectal units to auditory stimuli were space specific; they responded only when a sound source was located in a particular region of space, or receptive field, regardless of the intensity or type of sound used. Most auditory receptive fields contained a distinct "best area" where a sound source was most effective in driving the unit. Auditory space, as defined by receptive fields and best areas, was represented topographically in the tectum. The auditory and visual maps of space had the same orientations, positions, magnification factors, and termination coordinates at the anterior and dorsal edges of the tectum. Yet the maps lost their registry near the posterior and ventral margins where the most peripheral regions of space were represented. These characteristics suggest that the spatiotopic organization in the tectum is a compromise between a tendency for the space representations of different modalities to align and for the representation of each modality to fill the entire tectum.
在仓鸮（Tyto alba）的视顶盖中研究了视觉和听觉反应的感受野特性及功能组织。视顶盖各深度的大多数神经元对视觉和听觉刺激均有反应。每只眼睛的整个视野在对侧视顶盖中呈拓扑式表征。在视顶盖图谱中代表双眼视觉区域的部分，50%的浅层神经元和100%的深层神经元由双眼驱动。空间中额部双眼区域的表征在图谱中大幅扩展；额部双眼区的平均放大系数比单眼区大3倍。视顶盖浅层和深层神经元对听觉刺激的反应具有空间特异性；无论使用何种声音的强度或类型，它们仅在声源位于特定空间区域或感受野时才产生反应。大多数听觉感受野包含一个明显的“最佳区域”，声源在此区域驱动神经元最为有效。由感受野和最佳区域所定义的听觉空间在视顶盖中呈拓扑式表征。视顶盖的听觉和视觉空间图谱在视顶盖的前缘和背缘具有相同的方向、位置、放大系数和终止坐标。然而，在图谱的后缘和腹缘附近，当表征空间的最外周区域时，图谱失去了对齐关系。这些特征表明，视顶盖中的空间拓扑组织是不同模态的空间表征趋于对齐以及每种模态的表征填满整个视顶盖这两种趋势之间的一种折衷。
