Autoradiographic techniques were used to label [3H]-adenosine and [3H]-cyclohexyladenosine accumulating cells in rabbit, mouse, and ground squirrel retinas. Immunohistochemical methods revealed the distribution of cells that stained for endogenous adenosine. Comparisons of these two markers revealed for all three species that the distribution of specific subpopulations of retinal cells that store or accumulate the purine nucleoside, adenosine, is similar. For all three species, cells localized in the ganglion cell layer accumulated adenosine and exhibited adenosine-like immunoreactivity (ALIR). A smaller proportion of cells localized in the inner nuclear layer were labeled for ALIR, while a larger proportion of cells in this layer accumulated adenosine. Subtle differences between species are presented. However, the general similarities of the distribution of these two putative purinergic markers supports the evidence that a discrete adenosinergic neurotransmitter/modulatory system is present in the retina.

Normal, regenerating, and developing optic nerves of the goldfish were studied utilizing a monoclonal antibody (mAb) 1E1T which has specificity for Müller cells in the retina, radial ghal cells in the tectum, and non-neuronal cells in the optic nerve.

Sections of the normal optic nerve revealed longitudinally oriented chains of non-neuronal cells, that were 4–8 cells long The number of chains in the normal nerve was very few. In addition, short acellular septa, probably the connective tissue septa, were also labeled with mAb 1E1T. Sections of crushed optic nerves showed an increase in the antigen recognized by mAb 1E1T within the septa and new septa were now visualized. Furthermore, the existing septa were longer and extended the length of the optic nerve. The formation and elongation of the septa occurred as early as 3 day postcrush. Between 3 and 11 d postcrush, there was heavy labeling of the septa and a large accumulation of non-neuronal cells at the crush site. At 3 months postcrush, the accumulation of non-neuronal cells labeled by mAb 1E1T were no longer visible but heavy labeling of the septa was still apparent.

Synaptic contacts onto fibers and somata in the nerve fiber layer (NFL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL) of macaque and human retina were demonstrated at the electron microscopical (EM) level. Many presynaptic processes in monkey NFL are gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) immunoreactive, using anti-GABA antiserum with an EM immunogold procedure. Immunocytochemistry at the light microscopic level revealed that many GABA-reactive cells in the GCL send branching processes into the NFL, forming a sparse synaptic plexus. The presence of long, unbranched GABA-reactive fibers running horizontally in the NFL and entering the optic nerve suggests that some ganglion cells may be GABAergic. GABA-reactive cells contributing to the plexus appear to be a new class of displaced amacrines that arborize in the NFL.

The present study examines the changes in ultraviolet (UV) photosensitivity that occur during the growth of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). A comparison of the ocular media transmission of small (n = 3) and large (n = 3) trout eyes did not reveal large changes in the transmission of UV radiation through the eye. We used the heart-rate conditioning technique to measure spectral sensitivity in immobilized trout. Four trout, each weighing less than 30 g, exhibited a UV-sensitivity peak at 360 nm while four additional trout weighing more than 60 g each exhibited no evidence of UV sensitivity. Spectral-sensitivity measurements of two trout weighing 44 g and 60 g revealed UV sensitivity, but when measured one month later (after a 25% increase in body weight) both fish exhibited no UV-sensitivity peak. At this time their sensitivity appeared to conform to the known blue-sensitive cone mechanism.

The putative neural pacemaker controlling circadian rhythms in mammals is contained in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus. These nuclei receive a projection, the geniculo-hypothalamic tract (GHT), from neurons in the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) and portions of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN) of the thalamus. We examined the responses of putative GHT neurons to diffuse illumination using extracellular electrophysiological recordings. The great majority of IGL neurons showed sustained ON responses to diffuse retinal illumination; vLGN neurons showed more variation in their responses. Discharge rates of sustained ON neurons increased monotonically as light intensity was increased and saturated over 2–3 log units of intensity changes. Many IGL neurons had binocular input, and input from the ipsilateral eye was often inhibitory. These results indicate that GHT neurons may provide information about ambient light intensity to the suprachiasmatic nuclei.

Differential stretch of a retinal surface with an initially uniform cell density has been repeatedly implicated as one of the developmental mechanisms that produces the topographic organization of cell density in the adult retina, notably the area centralis or visual streak versus peripheral regions. It is known that intraocular pressure is required to produce the normal conformation and thinning of the retina during development. We tested the possibility that the retina has elastic properties that might permit differential stretch in conjunction with intraocular pressure. The relative deformation of the retina containing the presumptive area centralis was compared to the deformation of peripheral retina at equivalent applied fluid displacements in 7–12-day-old cats. The peripheral retina deformed significantly more, consistent with the hypothesis that differences in the local elasticities of the developing neural retina contribute to its characteristic topographic changes. Thus, a biomechanical property of the growing eye may contribute to the mechanism by which the pattern of the visual array is sampled.

The retinal topography of the cat's optic tract was determined by means of injections of the enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into the tract. This analysis was accomplished by the subtraction of all HRP injection sites not labeling a defined retinal area from those injection sites which resulted in ganglion cell labeling (Venn diagram analysis). Using this method, the following correspondences were demonstrated for the ipsilateral and contralateral projections: superior retina represented in medial optic tract; inferior retina in lateral tract; and area centralis in a dorsocentral location (which was part of a larger area representing the visual streak). The temporal raphe was represented in the ipsilateral tract as a band curving from the area centralis region toward the dorsomedial border of the tract. Contralateral fibers from a region superior to the optic disc were found to be displaced with respect to the general retinal representation in the optic tract and this appeared to be related to retinal development. The ratio of contralateral to ipsilateral fibers was determined and found to be nonuniform within the tract.

Injection of HRP into the optic tract of the cat also allowed the axons from labeled retinal ganglion cells to be traced within the retina and optic disc. Axons from ganglion cells lying temporal to the raphe curve around the area centralis enter the optic disc on the lateral and inferior aspects. Ganglion cells lying nasal to the raphe send their axons more directly to enter the optic disc on its superior aspect. A schema is proposed whereby the retina is mapped onto the optic tract.

“Sustained” visual units, i.e. nonerasable (R1) and erasable (R2) units as commonly described, were recorded in the superficial layers of the rostral optic tectum of Rana esculenta and their neuronal activity (expressed as the mean firing frequency ) was quantitatively analyzed The mean value of the exponent α of the velocity function of the erasable R1 units was found to be 0.46 and the constant k to be about 24.7. The optimal stimulus diameter was equal to 2.6 deg. For the whole population of the erasable units, the exponent α was found to be between 0.36–0.75 (mean value ≈ 0.56, i.e. largely different from the values currently reported for such units) and was independent of the stimulus diameter (D = 0.6–6 deg). However, the constant k of the velocity function (range: 8.2–37.7) varied with D. Most of the erasable units (called “mixed R1-R2” units) therefore showed an R1-type velocity function with an exponent α ≈ 0.5 and a constant k ≈ 25 but reacted to other parameters as did “typical” R2 units: (i) their neuronal response was related to the stimulus diameter by a logarithmic function with a maximum obtained for D = 2.4 deg; and (ii) a variation of about 4–17% on either side of the average value of was observed, independent either of the stimulus velocity or of the diameter of the stimulus. Results are compared to known quantitative data, and the use of stimulus-response relationships as a tool for classification is discussed.

Pigeons were trained to discriminate visual stimuli that differed in intensity, color, or pattern, after which lesions were made in the ectostriatum, either the core region (EC), the belt region (EB), or both (EC + EB). Control lesions were made in the lateral neostriatum. After surgery, the birds were again trained to discriminate the stimuli. On the basis of a quantitative analysis of the lesion reconstructions, each pigeon was assigned to one of five groups: EC, EB, moderate (EC + EB), slight (EC + EB), or control. Postoperative savings scores, based on the number of preoperative and postoperative sessions required to discriminate the stimuli, were calculated. An analysis of variance indicated a significant effect of lesion location on the extent of postoperative savings or loss. Only the moderate (EC + EB) group was significantly different from the neostriatum controls. A multiple regression analysis of performance on the individual discrimination tasks indicated that the extent of damage to EC predicted the initial performance deficit on the intensity and one of the two pattern discrimination tasks (vertical versus horizontal bar). The color discrimination deficit, which was modest in extent and of short duration, was predicted only by the damage to (EC + EB) that was at least moderate in extent (20–40% of the volume of (EC + EB)).

We have purified a protein that changes in relative concentration during the development of the kitten visual cortex. It resembles GAP-43 (a neuronal protein that is expressed at elevated levels during periods of development and regenerative axon growth) in the following respects: (1) it is an acidic protein (pI=4.7) whose electrophoretic mobility on SDS-PAGE is similar to, but lower than rat GAP-43, suggesting that the cat protein is larger; (2) its electrophoretic mobility varies with the acrylamide concentration in a manner that is characteristic of GAP-43; (3) its concentration in kitten forebrain is elevated during early postnatal development; (4) the sequence of ten consecutive amino acids from a chemically generated fragment matches the expected sequence from GAP-43; and (5) its amino-acid content also matches GAP-43. We conclude that our purified protein is cat GAP-43. Immunoblots with an antibody prepared against rat GAP-43 suggested that the concentration of GAP-43 in the visual cortex declines with age.

The vast majority of neurons of the rat medial terminal nucleus (MTN) project to the nucleus of the optic tract (NOT), but the MTN also projects to a lesser degree upon a number of other brainstem nuclei controlling optokinetic nystagmus. Because of the diversity of targets of the MTN, it is possible that individual neurons have branched axons that project to two or more brainstem nuclei. The possibility that axons of MTN-NOT neurons collateralize to innervate other MTN targets is examined in the rat with the fluorescent, double-labeling, retrograde tracer technique. Fluoro-Gold was injected into the NOT while Fast Blue was simultaneously injected into each of five other known targets of the MTN: the supraoculomotor-periaqueductal gray; the dorsal cap of the inferior olive; the visual tegmental relay zone; the dorsolateral nucleus of the basal pons; and the superior/lateral vestibular nuclei. Brainstem sections were processed for fluorescence microscopy and the MTN was examined for single- and double-labeled neurons. Results show that virtually all neurons of the MTN (>97.5%), together with neurons in the visual tegmental relay zone immediately surrounding the MTNd, are single-labeled in all paired injections involving the NOT and the other target nuclei. It was found that about 69% of MTN neurons project exclusively to the NOT, 5–10% project to each one of the other nuclei, and 3% of MTN neurons project to more than one target. Based upon cell counts from the fluorescent material, and previous analysis of Nissl-stained serial sections, the findings show that virtually all MTN neurons are projection neurons. It was concluded that the MTN is comprised of independent projection systems, possibly involved in different aspects of generating optokinetic nystagmus.

The normal postnatal development, the influence of age, and the effects of visual deprivation on the dopamine system in the retina of rhesus monkeys were examined. The lowest level of retinal dopamine was found at birth. By 3–4 weeks of age, the dopamine concentration had more than doubled. This level remained relatively constant in the retinas of older infants and of adult monkeys up to 34 yr of age. The level of the dopamine metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase did not significantly change as a function of age during the postnatal life span.

Monocular occlusion of newborn or infant monkeys for 1–15 months with opaque contact lenses resulted in decreases in the retinal concentrations of dopamine and DOPAC relative to the concentrations in the same animals' unoccluded eyes. Occlusion also resulted in a lower level of tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the retina. Monocular eyelid suture from birth to 15 months of age resulted in less consistent alterations of retinal dopamine and DOPAC levels; tyrosine hydroxylase activity, however, was consistently reduced by lid suture. Thus, dopamine synthesis and metabolism, and the ontogenetic increase of the retinal dopamine level of rhesus monkey are reduced by light deprivation.

As in rabbit, gerbil, and rat, the guinea pig interstitial nucleus of the superior fasciculus, posterior bundle (INSFp) is a sparse assemblage of neurons scattered among the fibers forming the fasciculus bearing this name. Most of the INSFp neurons are small and are ovoid in shape. Interspersed among these, are a few larger, elongated neurons whose density becomes greater and whose shape becomes fusiform in correspondence to the zone of transition from the superior fasciculus to the ventral part of the medial terminal nucleus (MTN). Like the MTN, the INSFp is activated by retinal-slip signals evoked by whole-field visual patterns moving in the vertical direction, as shown by the increase of 14C-2-deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake into this nucleus. At the same level of luminous flux, neither pattern moving in the horizontal direction nor the same pattern held stationary can elicit increases in the INSFp 2DG assumption. The specificity of the observed increases in metabolic rates in INSFp following vertical whole-field motion suggests that this assemblage of neurons relays visual signals used in the control of vertical optokinetic nystagmus.

Cat striate cortical neurons were investigated using a new method of studying adaptation aftereffects. Stimuli were sinusoidal gratings of variable contrast, spatial frequency, and drift direction and rate. A series of alternating adapting and test trials was presented while recording from single units. Control trials were completely integrated with the adapted trials in these experiments.

Every cortical cell tested showed selective adaptation aftereffects. Adapting at suprathreshold contrasts invariably reduced contrast sensitivity. Significant aftereffects could be observed even when adapting at low contrasts.

The spatial-frequency tuning of aftereffects varied from cell to cell. Adapting at a given spatial frequency generally resulted in a broad response reduction at test frequencies above and below the adapting frequency. Many cells lost responses predominantly at frequencies lower than the adapting frequency.

The tuning of aftereffects varied with the adapting frequency. In particular, the strongest aftereffects occurred near the adapting frequency. Adapting at frequencies just above the optimum for a cell often altered the spatial-frequency tuning by shifting the peak toward lower frequencies. The fact that the tuning of aftereffects did not simply match the tuning of the cell, but depended on the adapting stimulus, implies that extrinsic mechanisms are involved in adaptation effects.

The eyes of adult barn owls (Tyto alba) are virtually fixed in the head in positions that are highly consistent from one individual to the next. However, early in development the eyes are exodeviated; the eyes achieve their adult positions during the owl's second month of life. Disruption of binocular vision in baby owls leads to permanent, highly abnormal eye positions and interocular alignment. Of three owls raised with both eyelids sutured closed, two developed exotropic strabismus and one developed esotropic strabismus. Two owls reared with monocular vision developed esotropic strabismus, whereas three owls reared with fused, but optically deviated binocular vision developed normal eye positions. Thus, the alignment of the eyes in adults results from an active process that depends on fused binocular vision during early life.

Extracellular microelectrode recordings from the optic tecta of strabismic owls reveal that many units retain binocular inputs from corresponding points of the two eyes: the left-eye and right-eye receptive fields of individual units are misaligned by an amount predicted by the direction and magnitude of the strabismus. These results indicate that an innately determined pattern of connections in the brain anticipates the eye positions necessary to achieve binocular fusion. The hypothesis is put forth that the powerful activation of such binocular neurons by strong, synchronous inputs from the two eyes is the signal required by the optimotor system that proper eye alignment has been attained.

The formation of topographic maps requires not only that afferents synapse with the appropriate targets, but that the spatial relationships between the afferents be maintained. During development, in addition to the formation of the topographic map, the connectivity patterns responsible for the receptive-field properties of the target cells are being formed. The extent of interaction between these two processes is unknown. The present study addresses this question by manipulating afferent/target ratios during development, thus altering the topography of the map, and studying the effects of this alteration on the receptive-field properties of single target cells in the adult.

Partial unilateral lesions of the superior colliculus (SC) were made in neonatal hamsters. These lesions result in a compression of the retinotopic map onto the remaining collicular fragment. Single cells were recorded from the superficial gray layer of the SC in the adult in response to visual stimuli. Receptive-field properties observed in lesioned animals were compared to those in normal animals and in sham operates.

Receptive-field properties were largely unaffected by the change in the topographic map. There was no difference in the receptive-field size of single tectal cells of lesioned and unlesioned animals. Stimulus velocity and stimulus size tuning functions remained the same. This raises the possibility that, rather than the expected increase in convergence of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) onto single collicular cells, single SC cells receive input from ganglion cells representing the same amount of retinal area as in unlesioned animals. The excess ganglion cells created by the partial target removal would then project elsewhere and/or reduce their arbor within the SC. Regardless of the mechanism, it is clear from our results that circuitry in the retinotectal system of the hamster can compensate for conditions of increased afferent availability and thus maintain receptive-field properties.

Adaptation-induced changes in the temporal-frequency tuning and direction selectivity of cat visual cortical cells were studied. Aftereffects were induced largely independent of direction. Adapting in either direction reduced responses in both directions. Aftereffects in the direction opposite that adapted were only slightly weaker than were aftereffects in the adapted direction. No cell showed any enhancement of responses to drifting test stimuli after adapting with moving gratings. Adapting in a cell's null direction usually had no effect. Dramatic differences between the adaptation characteristics of moving and stationary stimuli were observed, however.

Furthermore, aftereffects were temporal frequency specific. Temporal frequency-specific aftereffects were found in both directions: adapting in one direction induced frequency-specific effects in both directions. This bidirectionality of frequency-specific aftereffects applied to the spatial domain as well. Often, aftereffects in the direction opposite that adapted were more narrowly tuned.

In general, adaptation could shift a cell's preferred temporal frequency. Aftereffects were most prominent at high temporal frequencies when testing in the adapted direction. Aftereffects seemed to be more closely linked to temporal frequency than to velocity matching.

These results constrain models of cortical connectivity. In particular, we argue against schemes by which direction selectivity is generated by inhibiting a cell specifically when stimulated in the nonpreferred direction. Instead, we argue that cells receive bidirectional spatially and temporally tuned inputs, which could combine in spatiotemporal quadrature to produce direction selectivity.

Mechanisms supporting orientation selectivity of cat striate cortical cells were studied by stimulation with two superimposed sine-wave gratings of different orientations. One grating (base) generated a discharge of known amplitude which could be modified by the second grating (mask). Masks presented at nonoptimal orientations usually reduced the base-generated response, but the degree of reduction varied widely between cells. Cells with narrow orientation tuning tended to be more susceptible to mask presence than broadly tuned cells; similarly, simple cells generally showed more response reduction than did complex cells.

The base and mask stimuli were drifted at different temporal frequencies which, in simple cells, permitted the identification of individual response components from each stimulus. This revealed that the reduction of the base response by the mask usually did not vary regularly with mask orientation, although response facilitation from the mask was orientation selective. In some sharply tuned simple cells, response reduction had clear local maxima near the limits of the cell's orientation-tuning function.

Response reduction resulted from a nearly pure rightward shift of the response versus log contrast function. The lowest mask contrast yielding reduction was within 0.1–0.3 log unit of the lowest contrast effective for excitation.

The temporal-frequency bandpass of the response-reduction mechanism resembled that of most cortical cells. The spatial-frequency bandpass was much broader than is typical for single cortical cells, spanning essentially the entire visual range of the cat.

These findings are compatible with a model in which weak intrinsic orientation-selective excitation is enhanced in two stages: (1) control of threshold by nonorientation-selective inhibition that is continuously dependent on stimulus contrast; and (2) in the more narrowly tuned cells, orientation-selective inhibition that has local maxima serving to increase the slope of the orientation-tuning function.

The spatial region involved in vernier acuity (integration region) was behaviorally determined in cats and compared with published human data and cortical scaling parameters for the two species. Integration region was estimated from vernier thresholds obtained with: (1) gaps of various sizes between the contiguous ends of the offset contours (gap effects); and (2) irrelevant contours placed at various distances from the vernier offset (interference effects). The gap studies showed that thresholds decreased as the gap grew from 0 to 4–7 min but then increased progressively with separations greater than 7 min. In the interference studies, thresholds were increased 2–6 times when the irrelevant contours were located within 40 min of the offset. Comparing these data with available human measures showed large species differences. Converting the interference distances for both species into cortical distances using published estimates of cortical magnification factor did not resolve the discrepancy. However, a comparison of the cat data with published human data, taken at an eccentricity at which the estimated human cortical magnification factor equals that of the cat, i.e. 7 deg, showed the effects of gap size and interference distance on vernier thresholds to be remarkably similar between the two species. This similarity supports the hypothesis that positional acuity depends upon mechanisms in striate cortex, and also suggests that such acuity may be mediated by a generic neural mechanism common to mammals.

Tectal evoked potentials (TEPs) in response to sinusoidal gratings of different contrast, spatial and temporal frequency have been recorded from the tectal surface of the pigeon. Responses have been digitally filtered in order to isolate transient oscillatory (fast) potentials (50–150 Hz), transient slow potentials (1–50 Hz), and the steady-state second-harmonic component (16.6 Hz). Transient slow potentials, as well as the steady-state second-harmonic component, are band-pass spatially tuned with a maximum at 0.5 cycles/deg and attenuation at higher and lower spatial frequencies. The high spatial frequency cutoff is 4–5 cycles/deg. Both transient slow potentials and the steady-state second-harmonic component increase in amplitude as a function of log contrast and saturate at about 20% contrast. The contrast sensitivity, as determined by extrapolating TEP amplitude to 0 V is 0.1–0.2%. These characteristics of spatial-frequency selectivity and contrast sensitivity are similar to those reported for single tectal cells. Unlike slow potentials, oscillatory potentials are not band-pass spatially tuned. In addition, their contrast response function does not saturate at moderate contrast. These differences suggest that tectal evoked slow and fast potentials reflect the activity of different neuronal mechanisms.