Organization of neurones preferring similar spatial frequencies in cat striate cortex.

The optimal spatial frequencies were determined for over 300 neurones in cat striate cortex. Neurones recorded within about 100 microns were more likely to have similar optimal spatial frequencies than were neurones recorded at greater separations. But, even neurones recorded close together sometimes differed markedly in their optima; these differences could not be attributed to differences in receptive field eccentricity. When one lamina was sampled more than once, on different electrode penetrations, the different samples of neurones did not often have similar optimal spatial frequencies. To investigate whether neurones in laminae or in columns prefer the same spatial frequencies, data from normal and oblique penetrations were compared. Little difference in the degree of organization was seen in the two kinds of penetrations.