Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-wxk4p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-30T21:33:31.229Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Properties of area 17/18 border neurons contributing to the visual transcallosal pathway in the cat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

M.E. McCourt ,
J. Thalluri  and
G.H. Henry
M.E. McCourt
Affiliation:
Division of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
J. Thalluri
Affiliation:
Division of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
G.H. Henry
Affiliation:
Division of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In a series of physiological experiments, a total of 203 neurons at the Area 17/18 border were recorded with a callosal link either demonstrated by antidromic or transsynaptic activation from stimulating electrodes located in the homotopic contralateral hemisphere (CH), or in the splenial segment of the corpus callosum (CC). Forty-four percent of the transcallosal cells could also be driven from stimulating electrodes in or just above the lateral geniculate nucleus (OR1). The majority (69%) of transcallosal neurons were classifiable as belonging to the complex family (B and C cells) and most of these were found in the supragranular laminae and in lamina 4A. The ocular dominance distribution of transcallosal cells was trimodal, consisting of roughly equal numbers of monocularly dominated and binocularly balanced neurons. Estimates of conduction time and synaptic delay were obtained for neurons driven from CH, CC, and from OR1, and in most instances the response latency was short enough to suggest a monosynaptic input from either the ipsi- or contra-lateral hemisphere. The distribution of transcallosal conduction times showed that S cells, as a class, had significantly faster conduction than cells of the complex family but otherwise there was no obvious signs of multimodality in the distribution curve. An analysis of the synaptic delays in transcallosal activation produced a mean of 0.6 to 0.7 ms but some were too short to be consistent with a transsynaptic drive, suggesting that some cells with an antidromic drive may have been included in the transsynaptic category. Results are interpreted in terms of the contribution made by the corpus callosum to stereoscopic vision.

Keywords

Visual cortexTranscallosal pathwaysReceptive fieldsResponse latencyCatElectrical stimulation

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , July 1990 , pp. 83 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Berardi, N., Bisti, S. & Maffei, L. (1987). The transfer of visual information across the corpus callosum: spatial and temporal properties. Journal of Physiology (London) 384, 619–632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berlucchi, G., Gazzaniga, M.S. & Rizzolatti, G. (1967). Microelectrode analysis of transfer of visual information by the corpus callosum. Archives Italiennes de Biology 105, 583–596.Google ScholarPubMed
Berman, N., Payne, B.R., Labar, D.R. & Murphy, E.H. (1982). Functional organization of neurons in cat striate cortex: variations in ocular dominance and receptive-field type with cortical laminae and location in visual field. Journal of Neurophysiology 48, 1362–1377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bishop, P.O. & Henry, G.H. (1971). Spatial vision. Annual Review of Psychology 22, 119–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bishop, P.O., Henry, G.H. & Smith, C.J. (1971). Binocular interaction fields of single units in the cat striate cortex. Journal of Physiology (London) 216, 39–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bullier, J. & Henry, G.H. (1979 a). Ordinal position of neurons in cat striate cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 42, 1251–1263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bullier, J. & Henry, G.H. (1979 b). Neural path taken by afferent streams in striate cortex of the cat. Journal of Neurophysiology 42, 1264–1270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bullier, J. & Henry, G.H. (1979 c). Laminar distribution of first-order neurons and afferent terminals in cat striate cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 42, 1271–1281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chandler, J.P. (1965) STEPIT. Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange (QCPE Program #66): Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.Google Scholar
Clare, M.H., Landau, W.M. & Bishop, G.H. (1961). The cortical response to direct stimulation of the corpus callosum in the cat. Electroencaphalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 13, 21–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cleland, B.G., Levick, W.R., Morstyn, R. & Wagner, H.G. (1976). Lateral geniculate relay of slowly conducting retinal afferents to cat visual cortex. Journal of Physiology (London) 255, 299–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cynader, M., Gardner, J., Dobbins, A., Lepore, F. & Guillemot, J.P. (1986). Interhemispheric communication and binocular vision: functional and developmental aspects. In Two Hemispheres-One Brain: Functions of the Corpus Callosum, ed. Lepore, F., Ptito, M. & Jasper, H.H., pp. 189–209. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.Google Scholar
DiStephano, M., Morrone, M.C. & Burr, D.C. (1985). Visual acuity of neurones in cat lateral suprasylvian cortex. Brain Research 331,382–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elberger, A.J. (1986). The role of the corpus callosum in visual development. In Two Hemispheres-One Brain: Functions of the Corpus Callosum, ed. Lepore, F., Ptito, M. & Jasper, H.H. pp. 281–297. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.Google Scholar
Elberger, A. J. & Smith, E.L.S. III, (1985). The critical period for corpus callosum section to affect cortical binocularity. Experimental Brain Research 57, 213–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Enroth-Cugell, C. & Robson, J.G. (1966). The contrast sensitivity of retinal ganglion cells of the cat. Journal of Physiology (London) 187, 517–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferster, D. (1981). A comparison of binocular depth mechanisms in areas 17 and 18 of cat visual cortex. Journal of Physiology (London) 311, 623–655.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferster, D. & Lindstrom, S. (1983). An intracellular analysis of geniculo-cortical connectivity in area 17 of the cat. Journal of Physiology (London) 342, 181–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, R. & Blake, R. R. (1971). Stereoscopic vision in the cat. Nature 233, 55–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuller, J. H. & Schlag, J. D. (1976). Determination of antidromic ex-citation by the collision test: problems of interpretation. Brain Research 112, 283–298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gardner, J.C. & Raiten, E.J. (1986). Ocular dominance and disparity-sensitivity: Why there are cells in the visual cortex driven unequally by the two eyes. Experimental Brain Research 64, 505–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilbert, C.D. & Kelly, J.P. (1975). The projections of cells in different layers of the cat's visual cortex. Journal of Comparative Neurology 163, 81–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammond, P. (1978). Inadequacy of nitrous oxide/oxygen mixtures for maintaining anesthesia in cats: satisfactory alternatives. Pain 5, 143–151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvey, A.R. (1980). A physiological analysis of subcortical and commissural projections of areas 17 and 18 of the cat. Journal f Physiology (London) 302, 507–534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, G.H. (1977). Receptive-field classes of cells in the striate cortex of the cat. Brain Research 133, 1–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, G.H., Harvey, A.R. & Lund, J.S. (1979). The afferent connections and laminar distributions of cells in the cat striate cortex. Journal of Comparative Neurology 187, 725–744.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henry, G.H., Lund, J.S. & Harvey, A.R. (1978). Cells of the striate cortex projecting to the Clare-Bishop area of the cat. Brain Research 151, 154–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, G.H., Mustari, M.J. & Bullier, J. (1983). Different geniculate inputs to B and C cells of cat striate cortex. Experimental Brain Research 52, 179–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubel, D.H. & Wiesel, T.N. (1967). Cortical and callosal connections concerned with the vertical meridian of the visual fields in the cat. Journal of Neurophysiology 30, 1561–1573.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Innocenti, G.M. (1986). General organization of callosal connections in the cerebral cortex. In Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 5: Sensory-Motor Areas and Aspects of Cortical Connectivity, ed. Jones, E.G. & Peters, A., pp. 291–353. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Jankowska, E. & Roberts, W.J. (1972). An electrophysiological demonstration of the axonal projections of single spinal interneurones in the cat. Journal of Physiology (London) 222, 597–622.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kato, N. (1987). Postnatal development of the striate cortical projection onto the extra geniculate visual thalamus of the cat: an HRP study. Experimental Brain Research 67, 119–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaye, M., Mitchell, D.E. & Cynader, M.S. (1981). Selective loss of binocular depth perception after ablation of cat visual cortex. Nature 293, 60–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaye, M., Mitchell, D.E. & Cynader, M.S. (1982). Depth perception, eye alignment, and cortical ocular dominance of dark-reared cats. Developmental Brain Research 2, 37–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lepore, F. & Guillemot, J.P. (1982). Visual receptive-field properties cells innervated through the corpus callosum in the cat. Experimental Brain Research 46, 413–424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lepore, F., Ptito, M. & Lassonde, M. (1986). Stereoperception in cats following section of the corpus callosum and/or the optic chiasm. Experimental Brain Research 61, 258–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levick, W.R. (1977). Participation of brisk-transient retinal ganglion cells in binocular vision: an hypothesis. Proceedings of the Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society 8, 9–16.Google Scholar
Looney, G.A. & Elberger, A.J. (1986). Myelination of the corpus callosum in the cat: time course, topography, and functional implications. Journal of Comparative Neurology 248, 336–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCourt, M.E., Boyapati, J. & Henry, G.H. (1985). The transcallosal pathway of areas 17 and 18 of the cat. Proceedings of the Australian Physiological and Pharmacological Society 16, 29P.Google Scholar
McCourt, M.E., Boyapati, J. & Henry, G.H. (1987). Properties of area 17/18 border neurons contributing to the visual transcallosal pathway in the cat. Society for Neuroscience Abstract 13, 633.Google Scholar
Merrill, E.G. & Ainsworth, A. (1972). Glass-coated platinum-plated tungsten microelectrodes. Medical and Biological Engineering 10, 662–672.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mesulam, M.M. (1978). Tetramethylbenzidine for horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry: a noncarcinogenic blue reaction product with superior sensitivity for visualizing neural afferents and efferents. Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry 26, 106–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minclacchi, D. & Antonini, A. (1984). Binocularity in the visual cortex of the adult cat does not depend upon the integrity of the corpus callosum. Behavioural Brain Research 13, 183–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packwood, J. & Gordon, B. (1975). Stereopsis in normal domestic cat, siamese cat, and cat raised with alternating monocular occlusion. Journal of Neurophysiology 38, 1485–1499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Payne, B.R. (1986). Role of callosal cells in the functional organization of cat striate cortex. In Two Hemispheres-One Brain: Functions of the Corpus Callosum, ed. Lepore, F., Ptito, M. & Jasper, H.H., pp. 231–254. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.Google Scholar
Payne, B.R., Elberger, A.J., Berman, N. & Murphy, E.H. (1980). Binocularity in the cat visual cortex is reduced by sectioning the corpus callosum. Science 207, 1097–1099.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Payne, B.R., Pearson, H.E. & Berman, N. (1984). Role of corpus callosum in functional organization of cat striate cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 52, 570–594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poggio, G.F. & Poggio, T. (1984). The analysis of stereoosis. Annual Review Neuroscience 7, 379–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ptito, M., Lepore, F., Lassonde, M., Dion, C. & Miceli, D. (1986). Neural mechanisms for stereopsis in cats. In Two Hemispheres–One Brain: Functions of the Corpus Callosum, ed. Lepore, F., Ptito, M. & Jasper, H.H., pp. 335–350. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.Google Scholar
Rauschecker, J.P., von, Grunau M.W. & Polin, C. (1987). Thalamocortical connections and their correlation with receptive-field properties in the cat's lateral suprasylvian visual cortex. Experimental Brain Research 67, 100–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenquist, A.C. (1985). Connections of visual cortical areas in the cat. In Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 3: Visual Cortex, ed. Jones, E.G. & Peters, A., pp. 81–117. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Segraves, M.A. & Rosenquist, A.C. (1982 a). The distribution of the cells of origin of callosal projections in cat visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience 2, 1079–1089.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Segraves, M.A. & Rosenquist, A.C. (1982 b). The afferent and efferent callosal connections of retinotopically defined areas in the cat cortex. Journal of Neuroscience 2, 1090–1107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shatz, C.J. (1977). Anatomy of interhemispheric connections in the visual system of Boston Siamese and ordinary cats. Journal of Comparative Neurology 173, 497–518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swadlow, H.A., Waxman, S.G. & Rosene, D.L. (1978). Latency variability and the identification of antidromically activated neurons in the mammalian brain. Experimental Brain Research 32, 439–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Timney, B., Elberger, A. & Vandewater, M.L. (1985). Binocular depth perception in the cat following early corpus callosum section. Experimental Brain Research 60, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Toyama, K., Matsunami, K., Ohno, T. & Tokashiki, S. (1974). An intracellular study of neuronal organization in the visual cortex. Experimental Brain Research 21, 45–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tsumoto, T. (1978). Inhibitory and excitatory binocular convergence to visual cortical neurons of the cat. Brain Research 159, 85–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed