Altered organization of intercollicular pathway in bilaterally enucleated hamsters

Autoradiography and the horseradish peroxidase technique were used to examine the intercollicular pathway in normal hamsters and in animals subjected to removal of one or both eyes at birth. The topographic organization of the intercollicular pathway and the numbers and laminar distributions of intertectal cells were the same in all groups. The laminar distributions of commissural fibers were also quite similar in the normal and unilaterally enucleated hamsters. In the bilateral enucleates, however, intertectal axons innervated the superficial gray and optic layers much more densely than in either of the other two groups.