title: Cortical synaptic arrangements of the third visual pathway in three primate species: Macaca mulatta, Saimiri sciureus, and Aotus trivirgatus.
abstract: The koniocellular (K) pathway is one of three pathways from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to primate visual cortex (V1). K pathway projections to the cytochrome oxidase (CO) blobs of V1 suggest involvement in chromatic processing given reports that the CO blobs in diurnal primates contain cells selective for color. K LGN layers and CO blobs, however, are also well developed in nocturnal primates such as owl monkeys, which are likely to be color blind. Thus, the K pathway plays either different roles in different species or some as yet unidentified common role(s). Because synaptic arrangements underlie functional mechanisms, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the synaptic circuitry related to the K pathway within the CO blobs of two diurnal primates (macaque monkeys and squirrel monkeys) and one nocturnal primate (owl monkey). Presynaptic K axons were labeled with wheat germ agglutinin-HRP, and presynaptic and postsynaptic profiles in CO blobs were identified with post-embedding immunocytochemistry for GABA and glutamate. In all three species, K axon terminals are glutamatergic and larger than local axon terminals, suggesting that they have a greater impact on postsynaptic CO blob targets than signals arriving via layer IV from the P or M pathways. A greater proportion of K axons, however, synapse with larger glutamatergic shafts in the diurnal monkeys than in the nocturnal owl monkey, perhaps reflecting the importance of color within the K pathway of these diurnal species. Alternatively, the loss of color vision in the owl monkey could impact K pathway circuitry earlier in the pathway. The basic similarities between K axon circuitry within the CO blobs of the three primate species examined also could indicate that this pathway plays some common role or roles across species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2175, USA.
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shostak
authors.forename: Yuchuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mavity-Hudson
authors.forename: Vivien A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Casagrande
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001029:Aotus trivirgatus; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012453:Saimiri; D013045:Species Specificity; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid