Expanded retinofugal projections to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus after unilateral enucleation in the wallaby Setonix brachyurus, quokka

Abstract

We removed one eye of quokkas either neonatally, before retinal innervation of visual centres, or at 35-40 days postnatal, when projections overlap bilaterally and are more widespread than in the adult. Retinal projections to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus at postnatal day 100 were demonstrated following anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. There were significant reductions in the size of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus ipsilateral to the remaining eye. However, the extent of retinofugal projections was markedly expanded in comparison to the normal input from one eye. Unexpectedly, projections were expanded to similar extents in the two series of enucleated animals although ipsilateral labelling appeared more dense after neonatal enucleation. In controls, label was restricted to eye-specific regions but in enucleated animals there were no label-free zones. Nevertheless the alpha laminae remained distinct in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of enucleated animals. Our findings suggest that binocular interactions are necessary for the segregation and refinement of visual projections but not for the formation of the alpha laminae.