du Lac S, Knudsen E I
Department of Neurobiology, Stanford School of Medicine, CA 94305.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Apr 15;88(8):3426-30. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.8.3426.
The optic tectum contains a precise map of orienting movements: the size and direction of movements of the eyes, head, and/or body vary systematically with the locus of neural activation within the tectum. In adult animals, this motor map aligns closely with the tectal map of visual space. This study addressed the question of whether the motor map develops entirely independently of visual experience. We found that in barn owls (Tyto alba) raised without vision, although a tectal map of head movement develops, its topography and alignment with the map of visual (and auditory) space are abnormal. The results demonstrate that during early life vision is necessary either to maintain or to guide the development of a normal tectal motor map.
眼睛、头部和/或身体运动的大小和方向会随着顶盖内神经激活的位置而系统地变化。在成年动物中,这个运动图谱与视觉空间的顶盖图谱紧密对齐。本研究探讨了运动图谱是否完全独立于视觉经验而发育的问题。我们发现,在没有视觉的情况下饲养的仓鸮(Tyto alba),尽管会形成头部运动的顶盖图谱,但其地形以及与视觉(和听觉)空间图谱的对齐是异常的。结果表明,在生命早期,视觉对于维持或引导正常的顶盖运动图谱的发育是必要的。