Encoding of dynamic visual stimuli by primate area MT neurons

Neural stimulus selectivity is thought to be optimized for the representation of real-world stimuli. Neural coding properties, therefore, may adapt to different environments. Here, we address the question if tuning curves depend on the statistics of visual stimuli. This is done by studying the directional tuning of macaque area MT neurons exposed to dynamic motion stimuli of two different direction progression statistics. Despite an apparent difference of tuning curves across stimulus conditions, our results support the view that the underlying encoding system is robust and subject to only restricted malleability by stimulus statistics. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.