In primates cortical area VI serves as virtually the sole channel through which visual information reaches the rest of the cerebral cortex and influences the conscious behavior of the animal. The substrates for sequential and parallel processing of visual information within VI have been shown by anatomical studies to be very specifically patterned. An understanding of these neural circuits is essential to the definition of how receptive field properties are generated. The intricate and stereotyped nature of these connectional patterns emphasizes the complexity of the controls, involving a series of molecular, cellular and functional interactions, that must come into play during development of the region. We will undertake anatomical studies, using Golgi impregnations, of he inhibitory circuitry within primary visual cerebral cortex of the monkey and in adjacent visual area V2; for comparison a similar study will also be made of the cat VI cortex to determine the generality of these patterns in mammalian visual cortex. The structural- functional relations of intrinsic network connections in monkey VI will be further examined using a combination of voltage sensitive dye mapping, to show patterns of functional activity, and anatomical tracing techniques designed to demonstrate the relation of connectional lattices to particular functional capacities. Physiological-anatomical correlations will be made of different types of thalamocortical projection neurons in the monkey lateral geniculate nucleus and of their terminal axons in the primary visual cortex using intracellular recordings and HRP injections via micropipette. Developmental studies, using neural transplantation techniques in rats and mice, will examine the events controlling laminar connectional patterns in the visual cortex; finally, the role of visual input in establishment of synapse populations in monkey visual cortex will be examined in tissue collected in previous project periods. The current interest in the functional logic of patterned cortical connections in visual cortex, in the formulation of computer models of mature and developing visual cortical function, and in the question of lineage versus environment as determinants of neuron structure and function, make an exciting framework for continued investigation of the region.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY005282-08
Application #
3260253
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Project Start
1983-08-01
Project End
1994-07-31
Budget Start
1990-08-01
Budget End
1991-07-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
053785812
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Levitt, J B; Yoshioka, T; Lund, J S (1995) Connections between the pulvinar complex and cytochrome oxidase-defined compartments in visual area V2 of macaque monkey. Exp Brain Res 104:419-30
Yoshioka, T; Levitt, J B; Lund, J S (1994) Independence and merger of thalamocortical channels within macaque monkey primary visual cortex: anatomy of interlaminar projections. Vis Neurosci 11:467-89
Levitt, J B; Yoshioka, T; Lund, J S (1994) Intrinsic cortical connections in macaque visual area V2: evidence for interaction between different functional streams. J Comp Neurol 342:551-70
Lund, J S; Lewis, D A (1993) Local circuit neurons of developing and mature macaque prefrontal cortex: Golgi and immunocytochemical characteristics. J Comp Neurol 328:282-312
Lund, J S; Yoshioka, T; Levitt, J B (1993) Comparison of intrinsic connectivity in different areas of macaque monkey cerebral cortex. Cereb Cortex 3:148-62
Levitt, J B; Lewis, D A; Yoshioka, T et al. (1993) Topography of pyramidal neuron intrinsic connections in macaque monkey prefrontal cortex (areas 9 and 46). J Comp Neurol 338:360-76
Craner, S L; Hoffman, G E; Lund, J S et al. (1992) cFos labeling in rat superior colliculus: activation by normal retinal pathways and pathways from intracranial retinal transplants. Exp Neurol 117:219-29
Yoshioka, T; Levitt, J B; Lund, J S (1992) Intrinsic lattice connections of macaque monkey visual cortical area V4. J Neurosci 12:2785-802
Chung, W W; Lagenaur, C F; Yan, Y M et al. (1991) Developmental expression of neural cell adhesion molecules in the mouse neocortex and olfactory bulb. J Comp Neurol 314:290-305
Lund, J S; Yoshioka, T (1991) Local circuit neurons of macaque monkey striate cortex: III. Neurons of laminae 4B, 4A, and 3B. J Comp Neurol 311:234-58

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