Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 111, Issue 11, Pages 4297-4302Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1401951111
Keywords
Aotus; border strip; CO puff; stereopsis; tetrodotoxin
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01EY002686]
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
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Ocular dominance columns (ODCs) have been well studied in the striate cortex (V1) of macaques, as well defined arrays of columnar structure that receive inputs from one eye or the other, whereas ODC expression seems more obscure in some New World primate species. ODCs have been identified by means of eye injections of transneuronal transporters and examination of cytochrome oxidase (CO) activity patterns after monocular enucleation. More recently, live-imaging techniques have been used to reveal ODCs. Here, we used the expression of immediate-early genes (IEGs), protooncogene, c-Fos, and zinc finger protein, Zif268, after monocular inactivation (MI) to identify ODCs in V1 of New World owl monkeys. Because IEG expression is more sensitive to activity changes than CO expression, it is capable of revealing activity maps in all layers throughout V1 and demonstrating brief activity changes within a couple of hours. Using IEGs, we not only revealed apparent ODCs in owl monkeys but also discovered a number of unique features of their ODCs. Distinct from those in macaques, these ODCs sometimes bridged to other columns in layer 4 (Brodmann layer 4C). CO blobs straddled ODC borders in the central visual field, whereas they centered ODC patches in the peripheral visual field. In one case, the ODC pattern continued into V2. Finally, an elevation of IEG expression in layer 4 (4C) was observed along ODC borders after only brief MI. Our data provide insights into the structure and variability of ODCs in primates and revive debate over the functions and development of ODCs.
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