Blockade of afferent impulse activity disrupts on/off sublamination in the ferret lateral geniculate nucleus.

The ferret retinogeniculate projection is organized into on/off sublaminae within each eye-specific layer. The role of afferent activity in the formation of these sublaminae was examined. We report that when the activity of retinal ganglion cells is blocked with tetrodotoxin during postnatal weeks three and four, on/off sublamination is disrupted, supporting a role for afferent activity in the formation of this pattern.