Expansion and retinotopic order in the goldfish retinotectal map after large retinal lesions.

A peripheral annulus of neural retina and pigment epithelium was removed from the eye of adult goldfish. After survival times from 148 to 560 days, the retinotectal projection from the remaining central fragment was mapped. In most cases, the map was orderly and had expanded to fill the entire contralateral tectum, but when less than 10-15% of the original retina remained intact, the projection failed to fill the entire available tectal space and was abnormally disordered.