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The ipsilateral retinal projection in the fat-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis crassicaudata

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 1998

J. RODGER
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth 6907, Australia
S.A. DUNLOP
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth 6907, Australia
L.D. BEAZLEY
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth 6907, Australia

Abstract

The population of retinal ganglion cells which project ipsilaterally in the brain was examined in the fat-tailed dunnart, Sminthopsis crassicaudata, following injection of horseradish peroxidase into one optic tract. Retinae were examined as wholemounts and optic nerves as serial sections. In addition, visual fields were measured ophthalmoscopically. Ipsilaterally projecting ganglion cells were located temporal to a line which ran vertically through the middle of the area centralis and extended medially to define a ventrolateral crescent. Temporal to the naso-temporal division, a mean of 77% of ganglion cells projected ipsilaterally; these cells represented 20% of the total ganglion cell population. The magnitude and retinal location of the ipsilateral projection correlated with the extensive binocular field which measured 180 deg in the vertical (from 20 deg below the horizontal axis to 70 deg beyond the zenith) and 140 deg in horizontal meridian. Ipsilaterally projecting axons were restricted to the lateral third of the optic nerve along its length, sharing territory with contralaterally projecting axons.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
1998 Cambridge University Press

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