A molecular correlate of ocular dominance columns in the developing mammalian visual cortex.
Publication/Presentation Date
11-1-2013
Abstract
Ocular dominance (OD) columns, alternating regions of left and right eye input in the visual cortex of higher mammals, have long been thought to develop from an initially intermingled state by an activity-dependent process. While indirect evidence points to potential alternative mechanisms based on molecular cues, direct proof for a molecular difference between left- and right eye columns is missing. Here, we show that heat shock protein 90 alpha (Hsp90α) is expressed in a clustered fashion in the developing cat visual cortex. Clusters of Hsp90α-positive cells are in register with OD columns of the ipsilateral eye as early as postnatal day 16, when OD columns have just appeared. Importantly, a periodic, clustered expression of Hsp90α is already present weeks before OD columns have started to form, suggesting that molecular differences between future left and right eye OD columns may contribute to the segregated termination of eye specific afferents in the developing visual cortex.
Volume
23
Issue
11
First Page
2531
Last Page
2541
ISSN
1460-2199
Published In/Presented At
Tomita, K., Sperling, M., Cambridge, S. B., Bonhoeffer, T., & Hübener, M. (2013). A molecular correlate of ocular dominance columns in the developing mammalian visual cortex. Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 23(11), 2531–2541. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhs232
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
22892426
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article