L6 - Making Maps Flashcards
Hierarchy of the visual system
Object
Lens
Retina
Tectum
Nasal axons go
Posterior
Temporal axons go
Anterior
Main conclusion from the stripe assay
Posterior tectime makes a non permissive factor that repels temporal retinal axons
How was it determined that it was the temporal axons avoiding a repellant factor in posterior stripes
Activity abolished by heating posterior but NOT anterior membranes
Posterior membranes cause temporal growth cones to collaspe in vitro
What is the repellant factor produced in the posterior tectum
Two ephrins
Describe how the ephrins are expressed in the posterior tectum
Expressed in a gradient from lo anteriorly to hi posteriorly
Aside from ephrins there is a second gradient seen in the retina … what is this … describe the set up of this gradient
Eph receptor for ephrins A2 and A5
Expressed in a counter gradient from high temporally to low nasally
What is the effect of knocking out both ephrin A2 and A5
Temporal neurones project they axons to the posterior tectum and the topogrpahic map is distorted
Ephrin A2/A5 double knockout mice
Fail to make topographic maps
Describe how this tectum map is made in rodents
Intitial growth of all fibres throughout the tectum
Axon branching and synaptogenesis - THIS IS SENSITIVE TO THE EPHRIN GDT
Competition for synaptic partners involving electrical activity
Electrical activity can____________________ to _______________
Modulate responses
Guidance cues
Who conclued that electrical activity can modulate responses to guidance cues
Ming et al 2001
Describe what Ming et al 2001 concluded
Demonstrated that electrical stimulation can enhance of reverse the response to guidance cues
In whaat case does electrical stimulation enhance the response to guidance cues
Netrin
In whaat case does electrical stimulation reverse the response to guidance cues
MAG
Electrical sitmualtion leads to an increase in _________ in a _________ dependent manner
Increase cAMP
Ca dependent
So more stimulation leads to
More stable Ca elevation
Refinemnt of connections is …..
Activity dependent
In lower vert. where the intial map in the tectum is topographic - coarse grained and axons make contacts over large and overlapping areas of the tectum … What is seen at later stages?
Some contacts are lost and the map becomes more precise
The refinement of the topogrpahic map depends on what (2) things
Activity AND
Competiton
Cells that wire together
Fire together
The ‘cells that wire together fire together’ describes what mechanism
Mechanism of synapose elimination which involves the localised release of neurotrohpic factors - THIS IS THOUGHT TO BE ENHANCED WHEN TWO CELLS FIRE AT THE SAME TIME
Give an example of where the ‘wire together fire together’ does not explain development in that region
In the embryonic tectim (Superior colliculus) mapping takes place before the animal encounters any light
The embryonic retina is
Spontaneously active
In mammals what two compoenents work together to form the topographic map
Ephrins and electrical activity
As axons reach the tectum what happens to the retina
Becomes spontaneously active
What could one hypothesise regarding the retina becomming spontaneously active
Could be that Hebbian principles are already operating (as in the occular domainance columns)
Experimental evidence to support the fact that Hebbian principles already operating
Na channel blocker - TTX - blocks AP gen - blocks map refinement
Geneticially block nAChR - no map refinement