Morphology of C-laminae neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat: a Golgi impregnation study.

On the basis of their dendritic morphology, neurons in the C-laminae of the cat's dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) have been divided into five groups. These groupings are based on previous descriptions of the neuronal types present in the dLGN of the cat (Guillery, '66; Famiglietti, '70; Updyke, '79). Class 1, 2, 3, and 5 neurons in the C-laminae are essentially identical to their counterparts in the A-laminae, with one exception. The dendritic orientation of class 2, 3, and 5 neurons found in the C-laminae is, for the most part, parallel to the laminar borders. In the A-laminae, class 2 and 5 neurons show no preference in their dendritic orientation and class 3 neuron dendritic orientation is predominantly perpendicular to the laminar borders. Class 4 neurons are found in all C-laminae and make up the bulk of the impregnated neurons. They are morphologically distinct from A-laminae neurons but exhibit a broad range of structural characteristics.