Cortical development: a role for spontaneous activity?
Patterned spontaneous activity seems important in the development of the retina and its projections, and it has now been shown that early retinal activity is faithfully transmitted through the thalamus. The modular organization of the visual cortex is also dependent on activity but not necessarily that originating in the retina.
Thompson
I
I
University Laboratory of Physiology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PT, UK. ian.thompson@physiol.ox.ac.uk
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000502:physiology; D008322:Mammals; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*