Monocular stimulation increases deoxyglucose uptake in ipsilateral primary optic centers of the rat

We present data from autoradiography of 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG), which indicate that despite the limited uncrossed optic innervation of the rat, monocular stimulation produces considerable activation of ipsilateral primary visual centers. Compared to binocularly occluded rats, intact, monocularly occluded ones showed substantial and statistically significant increases in 2-DG uptake throughout the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and superficial layers of the superior colliculus ipsilateral to the stimulated eye, as well as larger increases in contralateral areas. In contrast, stimulation of mono-enucleated rats did not produce observable increases in 2-DG uptake in ipsilateral optic centers, confirming previous results. This effect may be due to functional depression in the denervated areas.