Development of horizontal intrinsic connections in cat striate cortex

Intracortical injections of horseradish peroxidase conjugated with wheat-germ agglutinin (WGA-HRP) reveal a characteristic patchy staining pattern within the superficial layers of cat striate cortex. The patches consist of a dense accumulation of labeled neurons and axonal arborizations. We have investigated the tangential organization and the development of these intrinsic cortical connections by using a flat-mount preparation of area 17. The diameter of the patches varied from 200 to 400 micron, the center-to-center distance ranged from 400 to 800 micron, and the spread of patches extended further in the anterior-posterior than in the medial-lateral direction. The expression of these horizontal patchy connections is age- and experience-dependent. From ten days to six weeks of age patches are exuberant and on occasion fuse to beaded bands extending radially from the injection site. From 6 weeks onwards the number and the tangential spread of the patches decreases to one or two rows of isolated clusters. Long-term binocular deprivation disrupts this pattern of intrinsic connections nearly completely. We infer from these results that there is an inborn pattern of discrete horizontal connections in striate cortex which is shaped by visual experience and requires contour vision for its maintenance.