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Retinal projections in the cat: A cholera toxin B subunit study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2004

ISABELLE MATTEAU ,
DENIS BOIRE  and
MAURICE PTITO
ISABELLE MATTEAU
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Canada, H3C 3J7 School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Canada, H3T 1P1
DENIS BOIRE
Affiliation:
School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Canada, H3T 1P1
MAURICE PTITO
Affiliation:
School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Canada, H3T 1P1
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Abstract

The B fragment of cholera toxin (CTb) is a highly sensitive anterograde tracer for the labelling of retinal axons. It can reveal dense retinofugal projections to well-known retinorecipient nuclei along with sparse but distinct input to target areas that are not commonly recognized. Following a unilateral injection of CTb into the vitreous chamber of seven adult cats, we localized the toxin immunohistochemically in order to identify direct retinal projections in these animals. Consistent with previous findings, the strongest projections were observed in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus, the dorsal and ventral lateral geniculate nuclei, the pretectal nuclei, the accessory optic nuclei, and the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. However, we also found labelled terminals in several other brain areas, including the zona incerta, the medial geniculate nucleus, the lateral posterior-pulvinar complex, the lateral habenular nucleus, and the anterior and lateral hypothalamic regions. The morphological characteristics of the retinal axon terminals in most of the identified novel target sites are described.

Keywords

Retinal ganglion cellsVisionSubcortical visual pathwaysCarnivores
Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , September 2003 , pp. 481 - 493
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press

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