Optic afferents, neuron maturation, and neuron survival in the rat superior colliculus.

Removal of the eyes from newborn rats causes the neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) to degenerate in a morphologically less mature form than that which is found when the cells die naturally. The results indicate that afferents are important for the maturation of SC neurons and may explain several apparently conflicting results reported for the morphology of natural and induced cell death in other areas of the nervous system.