Neural connections between the lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex in vitro.

Neural connections were established in cocultures of rat visual cortex (VC) and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), which were isolated in early infancy. Morphological and electrophysiological studies showed that the cortical laminar organization of afferent and efferent connections in the coculture preparations was similar to that in the adult VC. The results indicate the existence of intrinsic mechanisms in VC and LGN that guide the formation of synaptic connections with the appropriate targets.