Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 2, 1024-1042, Copyright © 1982 by Society for Neuroscience
Morphology and distribution of retinal ganglion cells projecting to different layers of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in normal and Siamese cats
AG Leventhal
Electrophoretic injections of horseradish peroxidase were made into
physiologically characterized sites within the different layers of the
dorsal lateral geniculate nuclei (LGNd) of normal and Siamese cats. The
histochemical procedures used stained the cell bodies, dendrites, and axons
of retrogradely labeled ganglion cells. In both normal and Siamese cats,
only alpha and beta ganglion cells are labeled by injections restricted to
the A laminae. In normal cats, the alpha/beta ratios (number of labeled
alpha cells/number of labeled alpha + beta cells) resulting from injections
into lamina A increase from about 0.045 at 0.5 mm from the area centralis
to about 0.12 in the far periphery. The alpha/beta ratios observed outside
of the area centralis in normal cats following injections into different
parts of lamina A1 were lower at each eccentricity than those resulting
from injections into corresponding parts of lamina A. Also, the cell bodies
and dendritic fields of alpha and beta cells projecting to lamina A1 are
somewhat larger than those projecting to corresponding parts of lamina A.
Outside of the area centralis, the relative numbers of alpha and beta cells
projecting to Siamese lamina A are normal. However, alpha cells comprise an
abnormally small proportion of ganglion cells projecting to the normal
segments of Siamese lamina A1 and an abnormally large proportion of cells
projecting to the abnormal segments of lamina A1. In Siamese cats, alpha
and beta cells projecting to lamina A1 are distributed continuously
throughout virtually all of the ipsilateral and contralateral temporal
retinas. Since large parts of the ipsilateral and contralateral hemifields
are not represented in Siamese lamina A1, it seems that some of the retinal
afferents to this lamina are being suppressed. Injections into the C
laminae of the LGNd show that the same morphological classes of ganglion
cells project to these laminae in normal and Siamese cats. The classes
projecting to the contralateral as C laminae (laminae C and C2) include
alpha, beta, gamma, and epsilon as well as two other groups of cells
referred to g1 and g2 cells, gamma, epsilon, g1, and g2 cells project to
the ipsilateral C lamina (lamina C1). In siamese, but not in normal cats,
examples of all of these types are found far into the contralateral
temporal retina following injections involving lamina C1. This indicates
that all classes projecting to the ipsilateral C lamina misproject in
Siamese cats.