Cerebral Cortex, Vol 8, 237-244, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
KM Murphy, DG Jones, SB Fenstemaker, VD Pegado, L Kiorpes and JA Movshon
Some models of visual cortical development are based on the assumption that
the tangential organization of V1 is not determined prior to visual
experience. In these models, correlated binocular activity is a key element
in the formation of visual cortical columns, and when the degree of
interocular correlation is reduced the models predict an increase in column
spacing. To examine this prediction we measured the spacing of columns, as
defined by cytochrome oxidase (CO) blobs, in the visual cortex of monkeys
whose binocular vision was either normal or disrupted by a strabismus. The
spatial distribution of blobs was examined in seven normal and five
strabismic macaques. Tangential sections through the upper layers of the
visual cortex were stained to reveal the two-dimensional (2D) pattern of CO
blobs. Each blob was localized and their center-to-center spacing, packing
arrangement and density were calculated using 2D nearest-neighbor spatial
analyses. The mean center-to-center spacing of blobs (590 microm for
normally reared and 598 microm for strabismic macaques) and the mean
density of blobs (3.67 blobs/mm2 for normally reared and 3.45 blobs/mm2 for
strabismic macaques) were not significantly different. In addition, the 2D
packing arrangement of the blobs was not affected by strabismus. While it
is clear that neural activity plays a key role in the elaboration and
refinement of ocular dominance cortical modules, we conclude that it does
not determine the spatial period of the pattern of CO blobs. This suggests
that aspects of the neural circuitry underlying the columnar architecture
of the visual cortex are established prenatally and its fundamental
periodicity is not modifiable by experience.
ARTICLES
Spacing of cytochrome oxidase blobs in visual cortex of normal and strabismic monkeys
Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. kmurphy@cascade.mcmaster.ca
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