Normal and abnormal visual field maps in albinos. Central effects of non-matching maps

Abstract

The abnormal chiasmatic crossing characteristic of all albino mammals brings two discordant representations of the visual field to the central visual relays. The representation from the nasal retina is normal whereas the one from the temporal retina is disrupted, a part representing the contralateral visual field as is normal and a part coming from the ipsilateral visual field as a mirror image of a part of the normal representation. Experiments that were designed to define the rules on the basis of which the abnormal representations can be established in the lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex are described. These experiments are related to more recent studies of albino cats, and the observations of the visual pathways are related speculatively to abnormalities seen in the auditory pathways of albinos. The possibility is raised that the auditory abnormalities are secondary to the visual abnormalities, produced by a failure of the two systems to establish normally matching maps of sensory space.