Monocular deprivation affects X- and Y-cell retinogeniculate terminations in cats

The X- and Y-cell pathways in cats form two functionally distinct, parallel systems from the retina through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to the visual cortex1-4. We recently used the technique of intraaxonal injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to demonstrate major differences between X- and Y-cells in their retinogeniculate termination patterns5 (compare Figs 1 alpha and 2 alpha). Normally, axons of X-cells innervate geniculate lamina A or A1 (depending on the eye of origin) in narrow zones oriented perpendicular to the lamination. Some X-cells also terminate sparsely (that is, with few boutons) in the medial interlaminar nucleus (MIN), a subdivision of the LGN. Y-cell axons terminate either in laminae C and A (from the contralateral retina) or in lamina A1 (from the ipsilateral retina) in broad zones5,6, and most also terminate densely (with many boutons) in the MIN. We now report that cats raised with monocular lid suture develop abnormal retinogeniculate termination patterns. Many X-cell axons arising from the deprived eye have unusually broad terminal fields in lamina A or A1, and some also densely innervate the MIN. Many Y-cell axons from the deprived eye have dramatically shrunken or absent terminal fields in the A laminae and MIN. These changes constitute the most peripheral effects of monocular deprivation discovered so far, are consistent with previous reports of functional abnormalities among deprived geniculate neurones4,7,8 ad suggest possible mechanisms by which the visual environment influences neuronal development.