Afferent visual pathways and receptive field properties of superior colliculus neurons in stroboscopically reared cats

The effect of dark-rearing, strobe-rearing and acute visual cortex removal on the visual responses in the superficial superior colliculus of the guinea-pig

Extracellular multi-unit responses to visual stimuli were recorded in the cells of the superficial layers of the superior colliculus (SC) in four groups of adult guinea-pigs: a control group, a strobe-reared group, a dark-reared group and a group with the ipsilateral visual cortex removed acutely. Single unit visual responses were also recorded in a control and a dark-reared group. When guinea-pigs were either strobe or dark-reared from birth, the number of directionally selective responses in the superficial SC decreased significantly. Acute removal of the visual cortex had no affect on the number of directionally selective cells recorded in the SC. The correlation between azimuthal visual receptive field and rostrocaudal position of the recording electrode in the SC was not significantly different from the control group following strobe, dark-rearing or acute visual cortex removal. These data imply that, during early development, visual information is necessary for directional selectivity of the visual responses in the superficial SC. However, the map of visual azimuthal space is essentially unperturbed by visual restriction (in the form of dark or strobe-rearing) or acute visual cortex removal.

Activity sharpens the regenerating retinotectal projection in goldfish: sensitive period for strobe illumination and lack of effect on synaptogenesis and on ganglion cell receptive field properties

The regenerating optic nerve of goldfish first reestablishes a rough retinotopic map on the contralateral tectum and then sharpens it. Disruption of visual activity, either by blocking activity with intraocular tetrodotoxin (TTX; Schmidt and Edwards, 1983) or by synchronizing activity with strobe illumination (Schmidt and Eisele, 1985), disrupts the sharpening process: the map is correctly oriented but the multiunit receptive fields at each point average 25-40 degrees in diameter. In order to test whether strobe and TTX interfere with the same mechanism, we have tested whether their sensitive periods are the same, and whether strobe, like TTX treatment, does not affect either ganglion cell receptive field properties or synaptogenesis. In parallel studies, we exposed fish to 2 weeks of either strobe illumination or intraocular TTX beginning at various times after crush and determined via electrophysiological recordings that the periods of sensitivity were nearly identical. There was no effect of either treatment during the first 2 weeks (before the fibers arrive at the tectum), maximal disruption of sharpening between 14 and 50 days (the period of rapid synaptogenesis), decreasing disruption between 50 and 125 days, and no effect beyond that point or in the normal projection. In addition, long strobe exposures of up to 142 days produced no greater disruptions than shorter 2-3-week exposures, indicating no cumulative effect. The reestablishment of synaptic transmission in tectum, assayed by recording field potentials elicited by optic nerve shock, was not affected by stroboscopic illumination. Finally, individual ganglion cells, recorded intraretinally following long-term strobe exposure, had receptive fields that were normal both in size and in their characteristic responses to light-on, to light-off, or to both on and off. These findings support the hypothesis that strobe-like TTX prevents retinotopic refinement by preventing the correction of errors initially made by the ingrowing optic axons (Schmidt et al., 1988).

Developmentally induced loss of direction-selective neurons in the cat's lateral suprasylvian visual cortex

Single-cell recordings were carried out in the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian (PMLS) visual cortex of cats reared in an environment illuminated by 8-Hz stroboscopic flashes. These cats had a reduced proportion of direction-selective cells (8%) compared to PMLS cortex of normal cats (79%). Other receptive-field properties and ocular dominance of the neurons appeared normal. These results have implications for understanding the mechanisms of PMLS-cortex development and for interpreting behavioral studies of strobe-reared cats.