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Notes: Summary The effects of an inhibitor of GABA synthesis, 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MP), and of the GABA antagonist bicuculline (BIC), on the direction and orientation sensitivity of visual cortical neurons were investigated using a computer-controlled stimulus presentation system. Intravenous administration of MP, which was usually more effective than if administered microelectrophoretically, induced a slight, but significant reduction in these properties of about half of the neurons tested. The effect of electrophoretic BIC was in the same direction but clearer than that of MP. In 71% of the simple cells, direction sensitivity was virtually lost during administration of BIC while orientation sensitivity was never completely eliminated in any neuron tested. Simultaneous administration of both drugs (MP systemically, BIC electrophoretically) caused more complete modification of the sensitivities than single administration of each. In four out of thirteen neurons tested, orientation sensitivity was completely abolished. The excitatory receptive fields slightly increased in size and became virtually round. The response magnitude to the optimal stimulus was increased by each drug alone and by both. The present results further support the hypothesis that intracortical inhibition plays a major if not an exclusive role for the orientation and direction sensitivity of cortical cells.

Notes: Summary This paper addresses the question of a general topological principle of thalamo-cortical projections. In the lissencephalic primate brain of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), large injections of horseradish peroxidase were made in various parts of the neocortex. These injections were placed in different animals and hemispheres along various caudo-rostral and mediolateral gradients. Labelled cells in the thalamus were plotted and the labelling-zones resulting from several injections along a medio-lateral and two caudo-rostral cortical vectors were drawn into semi-schematic thalamic maps. These composite maps reveal a topological organization of the whole thalamo-cortical projection. The thalamic representation of the caudo-rostral and mediolateral gradients indicate a rotation of the posterior relative to the anterior thalamus. An attempt is made to relate the organization of the thalamo-cortical projection to the development of the thalamus and the cortex. The cortex is divided into concentric zones around the sensory-motor and insular cortex. The thalamus is divided into corresponding projection zones. The topology of thalamo-cortical connections can then be regarded as a consequence of corresponding thalamic and cortical growth gradients. This is not only consistent with the general thalamo-cortical topology and the inversion of maps from thalamus to cortex, but also explains the continuity and overlap of thalamic projection zones in the pulvinar to widely separated cortical areas as the parietal, temporal and frontal association cortex.

Notes: Summary In eleven hemispheres of nine marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus), we have investigated the thalamo-cortical organization of the projections from the pulvinar to the striate and prestriate cortex. In each experiment, single or multiple injections of various retrograde fluorescent tracers were injected into adjacent regions or areas. In two experiments, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected into the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the lateral pulvinar, respectively. The results show that the thalamo-cortical projection from LGN to striate cortex and from pulvinar to the prestriate cortex are similarly organized, but the geniculo-striate projection is more precise than the pulvinar-prestriate projection. The pulvinar-prestriate projection is topographically organized and preserves topological neighbourhood relations. Projection zones to the various visual areas are concentrically wrapped around each other. The projection zone to area 18 constitutes a central core region. It begins ventro-laterally in PuL where the pulvinar is in contact with the LGN. This contact zone we called the hilus region of the pulvinar. The area 18-projection zone stretches as a central cone into the posterior pulvinar through PuL and into PuM. It is surrounded by the projection zone to the posterior belt of area 19 and this in turn is surrounded by the projection zone to the anterior belt of area 19. The projection zones to area 19 are then surrounded medially and dorsally by zones projectiong to the temporal and parietal association cortex, respectively. The projection zone to area MT is located medio-ventrally in the posterior pulvinar (PuIP and surrounding nuclei) and coincides with a densely myelinated region. Area 17 also receives input from the pulvinar but probably predominantly in the region of the central visual field. The pulvinar zone projecting to area 17 is located ventrolaterally from the central core region projecting to area 18 and is contiguous laterally with the LGN. If the positions of the vertical and the horizontal meridian in the pulvinar correspond to those in the respective cortical projection zones, a second order visual field representation such as found in area 18, with the horizontal meridian split at an excentricity of about 7–10°, can also be recognized in the pulvinar.

Notes: Summary The distribution of mRNA expression for three types of voltage gated neuronal sodium-channels was studied in the rat brain at different developmental stages (embryonal day E18, postnatal day P5 and adult). With the in-situ hybridization technique, using synthetic DNA-oligomer probes, pronounced regional and temporal variations in the expression levels of the different channel subtypes could be detected. In comparison with types I and III, sodium channel II mRNA was the most abundant subtype at all developmental stages. Maximal expression of sodium channel II mRNA was seen at P5 in virtually all parts of the grey matter, except for the cerebellum. In adult rat brain in contrast, sodium channel II mRNA levels were maximal in the granular layer of the cerebellum, whereas in all other regions expression had decreased to roughly 50% of postnatal levels. Na channel I expression was virtually absent at E18 and showed highest levels at P5, with maxima in the caudate nucleus and hippocampus. In the adult brain, expression of Na-channel I was nearly absent in the neocortex, but well detectable in the cerebellum and, at lower levels in the striatum and thalamus. Sodium channel III was mainly expressed at the embryonal stage and showed a decrease to very low levels with little regional preferences in the adult.

Notes: Summary In the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), the cortical projection from the pulvinar and other diencephalic structures into the striate and prestriate cortex was investigated with various fluorescent retrograde tracers. Single cortical injections as well as multiple injections at distances of 1–2 mm with one tracer into an extended but coherent cortical region were applied. Fields with multiple injections were placed so that they touched each other (minimal distances 2 to 3 mm). Retrogradely labelled cells in the LGN and/or the pulvinar were arranged in coherent columns, volumes or slabs, but cell volumes resulting from neighbouring cortical injections overlapped at their border (for details of the thalamo-cortical topography see the companion paper Dick et al. (1991)). Double labelled cells (dl) were only found in the zones of overlap of the cell volumes labelled by the respective tracers. The relative number of dl-cells in these overlap zones was 6.2 ± 3.1%. The dl-frequency was the same in the various nuclei of the pulvinar and the LGN. In the main layers of LGN, dl-cells were found only in the overlap zone of two injection fields into area 17, but a few dl-cells were found in interlaminar cells after injections into area 17 and 18. Maximal cortical distances between injection fields which produced dl in the pulvinar, were 3 to exceptionally 4 mm but dl was highest at injection distances ≤2.5 mm and decreased sharply at wider distances. Such overlap zones were concerned with identical or overlapping regions of visual field representation in the cortex and probably also in the pulvinar. Although in individual experiments up to four different tracers were injected into different striate/prestriate regions, often embracing the same visual field representation, individual cells in the pulvinar showed dl from maximally only two tracers injected into neighbouring cortical regions. We conclude that dl in the posterior thalamic projection nuclei is determined essentially by cortical distance and thus reflects the local domain of branching of thalamo-cortical afferents. Pruning of such branches during development may further restrict bifurcating axons to identical visual field representations, but representation of identical visual field regions in different visual areas is not, per se, a sufficient condition for dl. It is not found if such regions are further apart from each other than the typical local domain of 2–3 mm, exceptionally up to 4 mm in one experiment after injections into area 17 and MT. Dl in the intralaminar nucleus CeL (5.0 ± 4.6%), the claustrum (5.4 ± 3.6%) and in the amygdala (5.7 ± 1.9%) was of the same order as in the pulvinar and LGN. In the hypothalamus around 10% and in the Nucleus basalis Meynert 15.8% of the cells labelled by visual cortical injections were double labelled. In all these extrathalamic regions dl was also restricted to overlap zones, but overlap of labelled fields in these nuclei was much wider and included the whole striate/prestriate cortex except for some topographical separation of striate and prestriate projection zones in the claustrum. Only in the Nucl. basalis Meynert and the hypothalamus some cells were labelled by three tracers.

Notes: Summary The effect of monocular and binocular stimulation on cortical neurons of area 17 was investigated in awake unparalyzed cats with painless head fixation. Two types of stimuli were applied: Stationary gratings of variable orientations, and a 3° wide dark stripe at different orientation and moving in different directions. All neurons which were excited from both eyes showed qualitatively similar input properties (orientation specificity, movement and/or direction sensitivity). Quantitatively, the input from both eyes was either equal or dominant from one eye. Contralateral dominance was found 5 times more frequently than ipsilateral dominance. Various types of binocular interaction were found. Some neurons showed an excitatory response from one eye and inhibitory response from the other (inhibition, 14% of our units), and others showed a response during binocular stimulation which was equal to the sum of the monocular responses (summation, 18%), larger (facilitation, 43%) or smaller (occlusion, 14%) than the sum of the two monocular responses. A few units with binocular responses did not respond to monocular stimulation of one or both eyes. The results are compared with those found by other authors in paralyzed and anesthetized animals, and current theories of neuronal mechanisms of binocular vision are discussed in the context of our findings.

Notes: Summary Over 300 single units from the visual cortex (within and around the projection of the central area) were recorded from awake and non-paralyzed cats (chronic preparation). Spontaneous activity of 25% of the neurons was below 3/sec, that of 75% above 3/sec (mean 7.65 spikes/sec). Diffuse illumination had only little influence, but nearly all neurons responded to stimulation with some sort of visual contrast. This would be either an irregularly moved shadow on the screen with irregular boundaries (e. g. a hand with moving fingers), a dark stripe moving in a certain direction, stationary parallel gratings with a certain orientation, or saccadic eye movements across a checkerboard. Although some neurons responding to one stimulus type could also be responsive to other stimuli, the majority of units only responded to one stimulus type. The responses to stationary gratings (alternating parallel dark and bright stripes) and to moving dark stripes are described in detail. Responses to stationary gratings showed no adaptation. The orientation of the grating stripes was critical for each neuron, the optimal and minimal response orientation were separated by about 90°. For movement sensitive neurons, the direction of the movement was critical. Most neurons had only one, some had two preferred directions separated by 180°. No statistically significant predominance of certain orientation or direction preferences was found. The preferred target velocity of movement sensitive neurons was between 10 and 60°/sec, above 80–100°/sec only occasional or no responses could be elicited. Neurons which responded to saccadic eye movements (above 300°/sec) in the presence of a checker board, usually did not respond to slower target movements below 100°/sec. The results support the view that the visual system has different channels for the perception of moving and of stationary objects.

Notes: Summary The extent of the spread of axonal degeneration was investigated in the visual cortex of the cat after making small lesions restricted to the grey matter. Two series of experiments were undertaken. In the first, normal adult cats were used, and in the second, the cortex of the postlateral gyrus was isolated from its extrinsic afferents by surgical undercutting 3 months before making the lesions. The results were similar in the two series in most respects. 1. Horizontal fibres extended in considerable numbers for some 500 μm from the lesion, mainly in layers I, III/IV and V, a few reaching 2–3 mm. These fibres were better seen in the intact than in the isolated cortex. Their spread was usually asymmetrical, being greater posteromedially than anterolaterally. 2. Oblique axons ran downwards from the middle layers into layers V and VI, or upwards into layers I and II. 3. Axons arising from layers II to VI descended vertically into the white matter. Degeneration patterns after lesions in areas 17 and 18 were compared.

Notes: Summary The average latency of cortical neuronal responses to electrical optic nerve (ON) stimulation was 3.0±0.7 s.d. msec. No significant difference between latencies to ipsi- and contralateral ON stimulation was found. Binocularly excitable cells showed almost equal response latencies to stimulation of both nerves. The average latency of subcortically recorded geniculo-cortical fibers was 0.3 msec less, but showed the same variance as that of cortical cells, suggesting that in all cases direct monosynaptic excitation of cortical cells by fibers of either ocularity is possible. Classes of ocular dominance based on electrical stimulation were positively, but not 100% correlated with classes of ocular dominance to visual stimulation. An anatomical study revealed that in cat terminals of geniculo-cortical projection are segregated to a lesser degree into ocularity stripes than in monkey. Direct monosynaptic excitation of cells by fibers of either ocularity which was found physiologically would also on these grounds appear possible for all cells.

Notes: Summary Neurones recorded during penetrations through cat area 17 as near parallel to the radial fibre bundles as possible have been quantitatively tested as to their optimal orientation. Optimal orientation within any one penetration was similar though considerable variability was observed. Histological reconstruction and other considerations showed that this variability could not be attributed to poor penetration angle or limitations of the microelectrode technique. These results confirm that neurones with similar optimal orientations are found in all cortical layers at one cortical locus, but it is difficult to reconcile the variability observed with a mosaic-like distribution of orientation across the cortical surface. The findings are consistent, however, with the assumption of a continuous distribution of orientation sensitivity across the cortical surface with considerable superimposed scatter.