Development of abnormal lamination and binocular segregation of retinal afferents onto the rat superior colliculus

RESUMO

Unilateral optic tract lesions made in newborn rats abnormal retinotectal pathways on the opposite side. The present in investigation was designed to study the development of the abnormal retinal projections in the superior colliculus using antomical tracing methods. The aberrant uncrossed retinotectal pathway develops within the first postnatal week. In spite of this, the retration of the crossed projection, wich indicates binocular segregation, is of late onset. This indicates that the induced segregation of retinal imputs is not dependent on regressive events such as ganglion cell death and terminal field retraction. These data and the results of lid-suture experiments are consistent with a role for spontaneous retinal activity in the regulation of the plasticity of retinal projections to the rat superior colliculus