Identification of synapses formed by the aberrant, uncrossed retinogeniculate projection in the hamster after neonatal monocular enucleation.

The terminals of the abnormally enhanced, stabilized uncrossed retinogeniculate projection in adult hamsters produced by removal of one eye at birth, were labelled by injection of HRP into the remaining eye and examined by electron microscopy. Labelled terminals closely resembling normally positioned retinal terminals were found to make well-differentiated synaptic contacts with geniculate projection and interneuron-like cells in regions of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus that do not receive uncrossed retinal input in normal adult animals.