title: Binocular integration in the mouse lateral geniculate nuclei.
abstract: A key task for the visual system is to combine spatially overlapping representations of the environment, viewed by either eye, into a coherent image. In cats and primates, this is accomplished in the cortex [1], with retinal outputs maintained as separate monocular maps en route through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). While this arrangement is also believed to apply to rodents [2, 3], this has not been functionally confirmed. Accordingly, here we used multielectrode recordings to survey eye-specific visual responses across the mouse LGN. Surprisingly, while we find that regions of space visible to both eyes do indeed form part of a monocular representation of the contralateral visual field, we find no evidence for a corresponding ipsilateral representation. Instead, we find many cells that can be driven via either eye. These inputs combine to enhance the detection of weak stimuli, forming a binocular representation of frontal visual space. This extensive thalamic integration marks a fundamental distinction in mechanisms of binocular processing between mice and other mammals.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Howarth
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Walmsley
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK. Electronic address: timothy.brown@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004566:Electrodes; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*