Position-dependent properties of retinal axons and their growth cones

The formation of the very orderly neuronal projection from the retina to the optic tectum is not yet understood, but several mechanisms are thought to be involved in a coordinated fashion. These mechanisms may include mechanical or chemical guidance in channels, guidance by spatial gradients of posi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1985-05, Vol.315 (6018), p.409-410
Main Authors: Bonhoeffer, Friedrich, Huf, Julita
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Axons - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Chick Embryo
Culture Techniques
Embryology: invertebrates and vertebrates. Teratology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
multidisciplinary
Neuronal Plasticity
Optic Nerve - growth & development
Organogenesis. Fetal development
Organogenesis. Physiological fonctions
Retina - cytology
Retina - growth & development
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Visual Pathways - growth & development
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Summary:The formation of the very orderly neuronal projection from the retina to the optic tectum is not yet understood, but several mechanisms are thought to be involved in a coordinated fashion. These mechanisms may include mechanical or chemical guidance in channels, guidance by spatial gradients of positional markers, gradients of temporal (maturation) markers or specific inter-axon interactions (see réf. 1 for review). The last-mentioned mechanism could explain the fibre order found in optic nerve and tract. It requires that some or all growing retinal axons can distinguish between retinal axons of various origins and grow preferentially along retinal axons originating from the same area as themselves. The in vitro experiments described here show that growth cones from the temporal half of the chick retina grow preferentially along temporal axons, whereas growth cones from nasal retina do not distinguish between nasal and temporal axons.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/315409a0