Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
???displayArticle.abstract???
The adult Xenopus optic tectum receives and integrates visual and nonvisual sensory information. Nonvisual inputs include mechanosensory inputs from the lateral line, auditory, somatosensory, and vestibular systems. While much is known about the development of visual inputs in this species, almost nothing is known about the development of mechanosensory inputs to the tectum. In this study, we investigated mechanosensory inputs to the tectum during critical developmental stages (stages 42-49) in which the retinotectal map is being established. Tract-tracing studies using lipophilic dyes revealed a large projection between the hindbrain and the tectum as early as stage 42; this projection carries information from the Vth, VIIth, and VIIIth nerves. By directly stimulating hindbrain and visual inputs using an isolated whole-brain preparation, we found that all tectal cells studied received both visual and hindbrain input during these early developmental stages. Pharmacological data indicated that the hindbrain-tectal projection is glutamatergic and that there are no direct inhibitory hindbrain-tectal ascending projections. We found that unlike visual inputs, hindbrain inputs do not show a decrease in paired-pulse facilitation over this developmental period. Interestingly, over this developmental period, hindbrain inputs show a transient increase followed by a significant decrease in the alpha-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA)/N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) ratio and show no change in quantal size, both in contrast to visual inputs. Our data support a model by which fibers are added to the hindbrain-tectal projection across development. Nascent fibers form new synapses with tectal neurons and primarily activate NMDA receptors. At a time when retinal ganglion cells and their tectal synapses mature, hindbrain-tectal synapses are still undergoing a period of rapid synaptogenesis. This study supports the idea that immature tectal cells receive converging visual and mechanosensory information and indicates that the Xenopus tectum might be an ideal preparation to study the early development of potential multisensory interactions at the cellular level.
Aizenman,
Enhanced visual activity in vivo forms nascent synapses in the developing retinotectal projection.
2007, Pubmed,
Xenbase
Aizenman,
Enhanced visual activity in vivo forms nascent synapses in the developing retinotectal projection.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Akaneya,
Low-frequency depression of synaptic responses recorded from rat visual cortex.
2003,
Pubmed
Akerman,
Depolarizing GABAergic conductances regulate the balance of excitation to inhibition in the developing retinotectal circuit in vivo.
2006,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Behrend,
Neural responses to water surface waves in the midbrain of the aquatic predator Xenopus laevis laevis.
2006,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Chahoud,
Larval development of tectal efferents and afferents in Xenopus laevis (Amphibia Anura).
1996,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Clements,
Detection of spontaneous synaptic events with an optimally scaled template.
1997,
Pubmed
Cline,
The regulation of dendritic arbor development and plasticity by glutamatergic synaptic input: a review of the synaptotrophic hypothesis.
2008,
Pubmed
Cline,
Activity-dependent plasticity in the visual systems of frogs and fish.
1991,
Pubmed
Cline,
In vivo development of neuronal structure and function.
1996,
Pubmed
Debski,
Activity-dependent mapping in the retinotectal projection.
2002,
Pubmed
Dong,
Visual avoidance in Xenopus tadpoles is correlated with the maturation of visual responses in the optic tectum.
2009,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Ewert,
Neural correlates of key stimulus and releasing mechanism: a case study and two concepts.
1997,
Pubmed
Fritzsch,
The development of the hindbrain afferent projections in the axolotl: evidence for timing as a specific mechanism of afferent fiber sorting.
2005,
Pubmed
Gasparini,
Silent synapses in the developing hippocampus: lack of functional AMPA receptors or low probability of glutamate release?
2000,
Pubmed
Haas,
AMPA receptors regulate experience-dependent dendritic arbor growth in vivo.
2006,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Hiscock,
Peripheral and central terminations of axons of the mesencephalic trigeminal neurons in Xenopus.
1982,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Holt,
A single-cell analysis of early retinal ganglion cell differentiation in Xenopus: from soma to axon tip.
1989,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Isaac,
Silent synapses during development of thalamocortical inputs.
1997,
Pubmed
Knudsen,
Instructed learning in the auditory localization pathway of the barn owl.
2002,
Pubmed
Larson,
The use of tactile and olfactory cues in neonatal orientation and localization of the nipple.
1984,
Pubmed
Lázár,
The development of the optic tectum in Xenopus laevis: a Golgi study.
1973,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Liao,
Activation of postsynaptically silent synapses during pairing-induced LTP in CA1 region of hippocampal slice.
1995,
Pubmed
Lowe,
The relation between soma position and fibre trajectory of neurons in the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus of Xenopus laevis.
1984,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Lowe,
Single-unit study of lateral line cells in the optic tectum of Xenopus laevis: evidence for bimodal lateral line/optic units.
1987,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Lowe,
Organisation of lateral line and auditory areas in the midbrain of Xenopus laevis.
1986,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Muñoz,
Anuran dorsal column nucleus: organization, immunohistochemical characterization, and fiber connections in Rana perezi and Xenopus laevis.
1995,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Pratt,
Development and spike timing-dependent plasticity of recurrent excitation in the Xenopus optic tectum.
2008,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Pratt,
Homeostatic regulation of intrinsic excitability and synaptic transmission in a developing visual circuit.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Pratt,
Multisensory integration in mesencephalic trigeminal neurons in Xenopus tadpoles.
2009,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Quick,
Inner ear formation during the early larval development of Xenopus laevis.
2005,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Roberts,
Responses of hatchling Xenopus tadpoles to water currents: first function of lateral line receptors without cupulae.
2009,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Ruthazer,
Control of axon branch dynamics by correlated activity in vivo.
2003,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Ruthazer,
Insights into activity-dependent map formation from the retinotectal system: a middle-of-the-brain perspective.
2004,
Pubmed
Simmons,
Lateral line-mediated rheotactic behavior in tadpoles of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).
2004,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Stein,
The neural basis of multisensory integration in the midbrain: its organization and maturation.
2009,
Pubmed
Stein,
Sequence of changes in properties of neurons of superior colliculus of the kitten during maturation.
1973,
Pubmed
Tao,
Activity-dependent matching of excitatory and inhibitory inputs during refinement of visual receptive fields.
2005,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Thomson,
Facilitation, augmentation and potentiation at central synapses.
2000,
Pubmed
Tsurudome,
Intracellular and current source density analyses of somatosensory input to the optic tectum of the frog.
2005,
Pubmed
Udin,
Plasticity in the tectum of Xenopus laevis: binocular maps.
1999,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Wallace,
Early experience determines how the senses will interact.
2007,
Pubmed
Wallace,
The development of cortical multisensory integration.
2006,
Pubmed
Wu,
Maturation of a central glutamatergic synapse.
1996,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Wu,
Stabilization of dendritic arbor structure in vivo by CaMKII.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Wu,
Time-lapse in vivo imaging of the morphological development of Xenopus optic tectal interneurons.
2003,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Xu-Friedman,
Probing fundamental aspects of synaptic transmission with strontium.
2000,
Pubmed
Zhang,
A critical window for cooperation and competition among developing retinotectal synapses.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Zittlau,
Horseradish peroxidase study of tectal afferents in Xenopus laevis with special emphasis on their relationship to the lateral-line system.
1988,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Zou,
Postsynaptic calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II is required to limit elaboration of presynaptic and postsynaptic neuronal arbors.
1999,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
