Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Orderly compression of the retinotectal projection following partial tectal ablation in the newborn hamster

Abstract

MANY hypotheses have been proposed to account for the development of the exquisitely specific systems of neuronal connections in the brain. Axons might read chemical labels on their target cells, attaching only to cells with a matching label1; axon and target cell populations might arrange a match without cell-to-cell specificity, using such mechanisms as differential advantage in competition for terminal space2,3; or some feature of the development and maturation of an axon and target system might produce ordered patterns of connectivity. The principal model system used to test these hypotheses has been the retinotectal projection of animals with nervous systems which are capable of regeneration, although it is not known whether this system in fact behaves like a developing nervous system. After removal of half the tectum in goldfish or frog, for example, an entire retina will compress its representation uniformly onto the remaining half tectum4,5. We have repeated this experiment in the developing mammalian brain, and have found that following a partial tectal ablation in a neonatal hamster, the projection from the retina to the superior colliculus will terminate in an orderly way in a smaller than normal tectal volume, as in goldfish and frog1,4. However, we have found preferential representation of nasal visual field which has not been reported in studies of non-mammalian animals in which the optic tract axons can regenerate. This may suggest some fundamental differences in developing and regenerating systems; in any case, it poses new problems for theories of neuronal specificity in developmental neurobiology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Meyer, R. L. & Sperry, R. W. In Studies in the Development of Behavior and the Nervous System 3: Neural and Behavioral Specificity (ed. Gottleib, G.) (Academic, New York, 1976). Meyer, R. L. Expl Neurol. 56, 23–41 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Keating, M. J. & Kennard, C. In The Amphibian Visual System (ed. Fike, K. V.) (Academic, New York, 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Gaze, R. M. & Keating, M. J. Nature 237, 375 (1972).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gaze, R. M. & Sharma, S. C. Expl Brain Res. 10, 171 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Udin, S. B. J. comp. Neurol. 173, 561 (1977).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. So, K.-F., Schneider, D. E. & Frost, D. O. Anat. Rec. 187, 719 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Jhaveri, S. R. & Schneider, G. E. Anat. Rec. 178, 383 (1974).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Jhaveri, S. R., thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1974.

  9. Schneider, G. E. In Neurosurgical Treatment in Psychiatry (eds Sweet, W. H., Obrador, S. & Martin, J. G.) (University Park Press, Baltimore, 1977).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Finlay, B. L., Schneps, S. E., Wilson, K. G. & Schneider, G. E. Brain Res. 142, 223 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Finlay, B. L. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1976.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

FINLAY, B., SCHNEPS, S. & SCHNEIDER, G. Orderly compression of the retinotectal projection following partial tectal ablation in the newborn hamster. Nature 280, 153–155 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/280153a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/280153a0

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing