Evidence for dendritic competition in the developing retina

Perry, V.H. and Linden, R. (1982) Evidence for dendritic competition in the developing retina. Nature, 297 (5868), 683-685. (doi:10.1038/297683a0).

Record type: Article

Abstract

At present little is known of the rules regulating dendritic morphology. Several studies have demonstrated that the shape of the dendritic tree depends on its afferent supply^1,2. The ganglion cells of the retina provide a particularly useful cell type for the study of neurone development as they develop independently of afferents from other brain regions. If the ganglion cells alone are destroyed in a small patch of the developing retina, it is possible to examine how the absence of neighbouring neurones of the same type influences the development of the ganglion cells around the depleted area. The development of the normal laminar pattern of the retina is not disturbed by the loss of these cells³. We show here that the dendrites of ganglion cells around the depleted area are preferentially directed towards this region. The orientation of ganglion cell dendrites is strongly influenced by neighbouring cells and we suggest that during normal development, dendrites compete for their afferents.

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