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Published August 1990 | public
Journal Article

Dynamic Changes in Optic Fiber Terminal Arbors Lead to Retinotopic Map Formation: An In Vivo Confocal Microscopic Study

Abstract

Dynamic remodeling of retinal ganglion cell terminal arbors has been proposed to contribute to formation of the topographically ordered retinotectal projection. To test this directly, the growth of individual terminal arbors was observed in live X. laevis tadpoles using a confocal microscope to visualize their complex three-dimensional structure. During initial development, nasal and temporal retinal arbors covered overlapping tectal areas. Despite subsequent remodeling, the dimensions and positions of the temporal arbors remained relatively stable. In contrast, the nasal arbors grew caudally, as they extended caudal branches and retracted rostral branches. These results suggest that differences in the remodeling of the nasal and temporal arbors lead to the emergence of retino-topography along the rostrocaudal axis of the tectum. All the terminal arbors were dynamic, including those with stable dimensions, suggesting that continual remodeling of arbors may be a universal feature of neuronal projections.

Additional Information

© 1990 Cell Press. Received 5 January 1990, Revised 20 April 1990. We thank Frank Truong for help with data analysis and Scott Burgan for processing the photographs. Statistical assistance was generously provided by Dr. Howard G. Tucker, who advised us on the appropriate tests to use, and Cheryl A. Arthur, who carried out some of the tests on our data. Dr. Tucker and Ms. Arthur are both affiliated with the Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine. We are also grateful for helpful comments on the manuscript from Drs. Katy Lynch, Jes Stollberg, and Rick Wetts. This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (BNS08356) and the National Institutes of Health (N52521) and by a gift from the Monsanto Corporation.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023