Surround motion modulates the encoding properties of primate retinal ganglion cells

Antagonistic interactions between center and surround regions of the receptive field are widely observed across sensory systems. In the early visual system, these interactions contribute to important computations such as edge detection. However, less is known about how center-surround interactions depend on the spatiotemporal properties of the visual input. Here, we show that surround motion strongly modulates the response properties of two understudied primate ganglion cell types. Broad thorny cell responses are strongest when motion in the center and surround is uncorrelated, similar to object-motion-sensitive cells found in other species. A different pattern is observed in On smooth monostratified cells: surround activation is suppressive for static stimuli and facilitatory for motion. These effects of surround activation diverge significantly from classical center-surround models and more closely resemble how surround motion affects responses in primate visual cortex.