Receptive fields and suppressive fields in the early visual system

Initial models proposed that these operations are weighted sums, with weights given by a neuron’s receptive field. These models explain the basic features of response selectivity. They were later extended to explain a number of suppressive effects originating within and outside the region of the receptive field. The resulting models rely on division. In this division, the receptive field feeds into the numerator, and the denominator is provided by a larger, non-classical suppressive field.