First Author | Muir-Robinson G | Year | 2002 |
Journal | J Neurosci | Volume | 22 |
Issue | 13 | Pages | 5259-64 |
PubMed ID | 12097474 | Mgi Jnum | J:124529 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3721829 | Doi | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-13-05259.2002 |
Citation | Muir-Robinson G, et al. (2002) Retinogeniculate axons undergo eye-specific segregation in the absence of eye-specific layers. J Neurosci 22(13):5259-64 |
abstractText | Spontaneous retinal activity mediated by cholinergic transmission regulates the segregation of retinal ganglion cell axons in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus into eye-specific layers. The details of how the layers form are unknown. Mice lacking the beta2 subunit of the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor lack ACh-mediated waves and as a result, do not form eye-specific layers at any stage of development. However, during the second postnatal week, beta2-/- mice have glutamate-mediated waves. Here we show that after the first postnatal week, even in the absence of layers, retinothalamic axons segregate into an unlayered, patchy distribution of eye-specific regions. These results indicate that spontaneous neural activity may independently regulate eye-specific segregation and the formation of layers at the developing retinothalamic projection. |