The visual information that first-order cortical
cells receive is contained in the visually evoked spike
trains of geniculate relay cells. To address functional
issues such as the ON/OFF structure of visual cortical
receptive fields with modelling studies, a geniculate cell
model is needed where the spatial and temporal characteristics
of the visual response are described quantitatively. We
propose a model simulating the spike trains produced by
cat geniculate nonlagged X-cells, based on a review of
the electrophysiological literature. The level of description
chosen is phenomenological, fitting the dynamics and amplitude
of phasic and tonic responses, center/surround antagonism,
surround excitatory responses, and the statistical properties
of both spontaneous and visually evoked spike trains. The
model, which has been constrained so as to reproduce the
responses to centered light spots of expanding size and
optimal light and dark annuli, predicts responses to thin
and large bars flashed in various positions of the receptive
field. The switching gamma renewal process method has been
introduced for modelling spontaneous and visually evoked
spike trains within the same mathematical framework. The
statistical structure of the spike process is assumed to
be more regular during phasic than tonic visual responses.
On the whole, this model generates more realistic geniculate
input to cortex than the currently used retinal models.