Nitric oxide in cortical map formation

We analyse the possible role of nitric oxide in the early development of cortical maps. A mathematical analysis shows that with the aid of the diffusing messenger NO, cortical maps can develop without the need for lateral-inhibitory interactions. We derive that the maps that NO can set up depend on the stimulus environment in a way that is similar to lateral-inhibitory models of map formation but that they also have properties that depend specifically on the parameters of the diffusion process. These dependencies have not before been extracted and can be used to test the involvement of NO in cortical map formation.