THE TOPOGRAPHICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 2 NEURONAL MOSAICS IN THE SHORT WAVELENGTH-SENSITIVE SYSTEM OF THE PRIMATE RETINA

The short wavelength-sensitive (blue) cone bipolar cells was found to have a nonrandom distribution by analyzing the nearest neighbors and b y calculating the density recovery profile (DRP). Blue cones had been shown previously to have a nonrandom distribution (Curcio et al., 1991 ). The relationship between the two arrays was then analyzed by calcul ating the cross-correlational density recovery profile (cDRP), which i ndicates the local density of blue cones around each blue cone bipolar cell. Although both cell types appeared to be distributed uniformly a t the macroscopic level, the cDRP was 1.7 times higher within 15 mu m of each bipolar cell perikaryon than in the surrounding area. The area of higher density was approximately the same as that in which the blu e cone bipolar cells made synaptic contacts with blue cones. The findi ng that the blue cones and the blue cone bipolar cells were closer tog ether than expected suggests that the positions of the perikarya of th ese neurons were influenced by their synaptic connections or other dev elopmental interactions.