UC Davis

This dissertation highlights unique aspects of the LGN for visual processing in the hopes to reframe the traditional view that the LGN is simply a relay center between the retina and primary visual cortex. It begins with a general introduction outlining the early visual system in the domestic cat and non-human primate, and sets up the rest of the dissertation to include an examination of unique LGN visual processing. Within the second chapter of this dissertation is an investigation of the unique biophysical membrane properties of the LGN to understand how the phenomena of bursting changes as a function of contrast in the anesthetized cat. In the third chapter of this dissertation, there is an investigation of corticogeniculate feedback’s effects on LGN processing as a function of stimulus size in the awake-behaving non-human primate. In the general discussion chapter, there is an exploration of how bursting and corticogeniculate feedback could interact with one another to facilitate (and modulate) LGN visual processing. Lastly, there is an appendix chapter, consisting of a review of the early visual processing system in rodents, felines, and non-human primates. As the LGN is a ubiquitous part of the thalamus and an extremely important brain region for the visual system, understanding the LGN’s interactions with other parts of the early visual system is integral to understanding how the LGN contributes to visual processing and the LGN’s contribution to higher-level aspects of vision.