title: Interplay between the dendritic trees of alpha and beta ganglion cells during the development of the cat retina.
abstract: We have analyzed the effect of a small lesion to the retina of a two-day-old kitten and observed that after degeneration of ganglion cells whose axons were severed, a restricted region of the retina remained depleted of cells. Cells located near the borders of the depleted zone showed an abnormal elongation of dendrites towards the bare area. By means of a computer-aided system, we analyzed the whole population of cells at the two borders, and in agreement with previous data found that the effect was most prominent at the border and progressively decreased to eventually disappear at a distance of approximately 500 microns. The distance from the border, however, is not the only factor to influence the degree of asymmetry; with comparable distances, the vicinity of an alpha-cell reduces the projection of the beta-cell dendrites toward the empty area. We suggest that the organization of the adult retinal pattern is also influenced by interactions occurring between dendrites of different classes of ganglion cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Comparative Anatomy, University of Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deplano
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Ratto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bisti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002415:Cats; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure