Binocular interaction in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat.

We have investigated binocular interaction in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the cat. Neurons were recorded extracellularly during visual stimulation with sinusoidal gratings which were presented at different interocular phases (disparities). The large majority of cells (91%) exhibited some type of binocular interaction. For 75% and 16% of the total number of cells, the binocular interaction was inhibitory or facilitatory, respectively. For the remaining 9% of cells, no interaction was evident. In marked distinction from visual cortex, the facilitatory and inhibitory interactions in the LGN are independent of the relative interocular phase of the patterns. Neurons in the LGN are therefore insensitive to the stereoscopic depth cue, retinal disparity.