ACTIVITY OF RETINAL CLASS-R3 GANGLION-CELLS IN THE TOAD BUFO-BUFO (L) IN RESPONSE TO MOVING CONFIGURATIONAL STIMULI - INFLUENCE OF THE MOVEMENT DIRECTION

1. The question of the presence of functional symmetrical coupling in the excitatory receptive fields, ERF, of class R3 retinal ganglion cells (n = 25) was investigated by extracellular recordings from their fiber terminals in the optic tectum of Common Toads. 2. The relationship between neuronal discharge frequency and stimulus movement velocity was in part influenced by the direction of stimulus movement in the x,y-plane. 3. The sensitivity of class R3 neurons for different configurational moving stimuli as tested in this study, was maintained regardless of movement direction but was sharpest for movement in the vertical direction. 4. The distribution of excitation in the ERF was not quite symmetrical but the asymmetries appear to form no basis for the discrimination of moving configurational stimuli. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.