Effects of monocular deprivation on the distribution of cell types in the LGN sub(d): A sampling study with fine-tipped micropipettes

• Published in: Experimental brain research 1984-01, Vol.53 (2), p.451-461
• Main Authors: Friedlander, MJ, Stanford, L R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0014-4819

Six cats were reared with monocular eyelid suture from 1 week of age. Two control animals were reared in the same colony. The sutured eye of the monocularly deprived (MD) cats was opened at 8-9 months of age. The effect of monocular deprivation on the distribution of functional classes of neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN sub(d)) was evaluated by extracellularly recording the activity of single neurons in the A-laminae of the LGN sub(d) ipsilateral to the deprived eye. A similar sampling procedure was used in the LGN sub(d) of the two control animals. The percentages of X- and Y-cells encountered in the LGN sub(d) of our control animals is in agreement with previous estimates based on cell size (2:1 X- to Y-cells-Friedlander et al. 1981). In the present study, fewer normal X- and Y-cells were encountered in laminae innervated by the deprived eye than in laminae innervated by the non-deprived eye in every MD animal. The authors conclude that the effect is not a sampling artifact due to the reduced size of cells in the deprived laminae of the LGN sub(d).