{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,6]],"date-time":"2026-06-06T22:59:27Z","timestamp":1780786767265,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1969,6,1]],"date-time":"1969-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":-18489600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["The Journal of Physiology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1969,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>1. The mean rate, impulse interval distribution, and pulse number distribution of the maintained discharge of ganglion cells in the retina of the cat have been studied after prolonged adaptation at different luminance levels.<\/jats:p><jats:p>2. From a state of complete dark adaptation up to a luminance of about 5 \u00d7 10<jats:sup>\u22123<\/jats:sup> cd\/m<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup> (viewed through a 7 mm<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup> pupil) the mean rate of on\u2010centre units increases. From darkness up to a somewhat higher luminance the mean rate of some off\u2010centre units decreases, but others show little change.<\/jats:p><jats:p>3. Above 10<jats:sup>\u22122<\/jats:sup> cd\/m<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup> the mean rate ceases to show a regular relation with adaptation level. On units often decrease and then increase again at a higher level. Rhythmical fluctuations are common near 10<jats:sup>\u22122<\/jats:sup> cd\/m<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>, especially if the retina is not in first class condition. Mean rates above 70\/sec and below 1\/sec are very rare at any adaptation level.<\/jats:p><jats:p>4. Over the range where mean rate increases monotonically with adaptation level, it is shown that the surround of on\u2010centre units does not inhibit and off responses cannot be elicited. When the monotonic increase is slowed or reversed it becomes possible to elicit responses from the surround. We suspect that the surround exerts a sustained, tonic, inhibiting effect at higher adaptation levels, thus holding down the maintained discharge.<\/jats:p><jats:p>5. There are rare units, forming less than 1% of those isolated, that show a regularly increasing frequency with increase of adaptation level above 10<jats:sup>\u22122<\/jats:sup> cd\/m<jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>. These units have concentric \u2018on\u2019 and \u2018off\u2019 zones in their receptive fields, but the responses to rapidly changing stimuli are sluggish and they have an unusually regular maintained discharge. They have been tentatively called \u2018luminance units\u2019.<\/jats:p><jats:p>6. The impulse\u2010interval and pulse\u2010number distributions of on\u2010centre units change predictably with adaptation level; the variance of the pulse number distribution is usually several times the mean at very low adaptation levels, but only a fraction of the mean at high levels. Off\u2010centre units do not show predictable changes. Luminance units fire more regularly, and have narrower pulse\u2010number and impulse interval distributions than other concentric units.<\/jats:p><jats:p>7. A simple model is proposed to account for the statistical characteristics of the maintained discharge of on\u2010centre units.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1113\/jphysiol.1969.sp008836","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,19]],"date-time":"2014-12-19T11:55:03Z","timestamp":1418990103000},"page":"699-718","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":209,"title":["Changes in the maintained discharge with adaptation level in the cat retina"],"prefix":"10.1113","volume":"202","author":[{"given":"H. B.","family":"Barlow","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"W. R.","family":"Levick","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1969,6]]},"container-title":["The Journal of Physiology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/api.wiley.com\/onlinelibrary\/tdm\/v1\/articles\/10.1113%2Fjphysiol.1969.sp008836","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1113\/jphysiol.1969.sp008836","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,8]],"date-time":"2023-11-08T17:55:21Z","timestamp":1699466121000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1113\/jphysiol.1969.sp008836"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1969,6]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[1969,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1113\/jphysiol.1969.sp008836"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1113\/jphysiol.1969.sp008836","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-3751","1469-7793"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-3751","type":"print"},{"value":"1469-7793","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1969,6]]}}}