title: Lack of early pattern stimulation prevents normal development of the alpha (Y) retinal ganglion cell population in the cat.
abstract: Binocular deprivation of pattern vision (BD) early in life permanently impairs global motion perception. With the SMI-32 antibody against neurofilament protein (NFP) as a marker of the motion-sensitive Y-cell pathway (Van der Gucht et al. [2001] Cereb. Cortex 17:2805-2819), we analyzed the impact of early BD on the retinal circuitry in adult, perceptually characterized cats (Burnat et al. [2005] Neuroreport 16:751-754). In controls, large retinal ganglion cells exhibited a strong NFP signal in the soma and in the proximal parts of the dendritic arbors. The NFP-immunoreactive dendrites typically branched into sublamina a of the inner plexiform layer (IPL), i.e., the OFF inner plexiform sublamina. In the retina of adult BD cats, however, most of the NFP-immunoreactive ganglion cell dendrites branched throughout the entire IPL. The NFP-immunoreactive cell bodies were less regularly distributed, often appeared in pairs, and had a significantly larger diameter compared with NFP-expressing cells in control retinas. These remarkable differences in the immunoreactivity pattern were typically observed in temporal retina. In conclusion, we show that the anatomical organization typical of premature Y-type retinal ganglion cells persists into adulthood even if normal visual experience follows for years upon an initial 6-month period of BD. Binocular pattern deprivation possibly induces a lifelong OFF functional domination, normally apparent only during development, putting early high-quality vision forward as a premise for proper ON-OFF pathway segregation. These new observations for pattern-deprived animals provide an anatomical basis for the well-described motion perception deficits in congenital cataract patients.
authors.affiliation: Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. k.burnat@nencki.gov.pl
authors.forename: Kalina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burnat
authors.forename: Estelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Der Gucht
authors.forename: Wioletta J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Waleszczyk
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kossut
authors.forename: Lutgarde
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arckens
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003423:Critical Period, Psychological; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins