Ga. Marks et al., Neuronal activity in the lateral geniculate nucleus associated with ponto-geniculo-occipital waves lacks lamina specificity, BRAIN RES, 815(1), 1999, pp. 21-28
Ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves are spontaneously occurring field pote
ntials recorded in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) just prior t
o and during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Facilitated discharge rates of
LGN neurons are associated with PGO waves. In kittens during the critical
period of visual system development, both visual experience and PGO waves a
ppear capable of influencing the course of development through activity-dep
endent mechanisms. Retinal innervation of LGN segregates into eye-specific
laminae and is critical to supporting the role of binocular visual experien
ce in development. We sought to determine whether neuronal activity associa
ted with PGO waves also exhibits lamina specificity. PGO wave-related disch
arges were examined in LGN neurons identified as to lamina location in adul
t cats administered urethane anesthesia and the reserpine-like compound, RO
4-1284. Spontaneous activity of LGN neurons was related to the occurrence o
f PGO-like waves in all cells studied. No factors could be found that diffe
rentiated lamina location and PGO wave-related discharges. We conclude that
the PGO wave influence on neuronal activity in the visual system is fundam
entally different from that derived from visual experience. The implication
s of this difference for the role of the two sources of activation in the c
ontrol of neural activity in development are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier S
cience B.V. All rights reserved.