Representation of the visual field in the superior colliculus of the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and the tree shrew (Tupaia glis)

Lane, R.H.; Allman, John M.; Kaas, Jon H.

doi:10.1016/s0006-8993(71)80005-7

Cited by 87 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In both, the superior colliculus, the major visual center of the midbrain, is unusually large and distinctly laminated [Abplanalp, 1970;Lane et al, 1971] compared to the superior colliculus of most mammals, including all primates [Kaas and Huerta, 1988]. The specialization of this structure is especially obvious when compared to the small, poorly differentiated superior colliculus of a nocturnal hedgehog ( fig.…”

Section: Comparing Tree Shrews and Squirrelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergences in the Modular and Areal Organization of the Forebrain of Mammals: Implications for the Reconstruction of Forebrain Evolution

Kaas

2002

Brain Behav Evol

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Early efforts to reconstruct the course of the evolution of the human brain relied on comparing the brains of a few related mammals with brains at successively higher levels of complexity. This Clark or ladder of levels approach is now seen as having limited usefulness in that species are not easily assigned to levels, and extant mammals are now recognized as mosaics of primitive and derived features. In addition, direction of change does not necessarily proceed from simple to complex, small to large, or diffuse to differentiated. A modern cladistic approach reconstructs the brains of ancestors by identifying brain characters within and across phylogenetic groups (clades), and uses parsimony or likelihood to infer direction of change and distinguish ancestral features from independently evolved convergences. Unfortunately, an idealized cladistic approach is often difficult to realize because characters may be hard to identify and validate, key species may be unavailable for study, and broadly based comparative studies can be costly, poorly funded, and labor intensive. Thus, many investigators pursue a truncated approach that is superficially Clark-like but conceptually cladistic. A truncated approach that relies on the extensive study of a few species may compensate for weaknesses by including niche-matched species that offer the opportunity to estimate the likelihood of similar brain features evolving as convergent adaptations. Because inferences about the brains of the primate ancestor are often made from the brains of tree shrews, we compare the brains of squirrel-like tree shrews with the brains of diurnal squirrels, and suggest that many of the primate-like features of the visual system of tree shrews arose independently of those in primates.

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Section: Comparing Tree Shrews and Squirrelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergences in the Modular and Areal Organization of the Forebrain of Mammals: Implications for the Reconstruction of Forebrain Evolution

Kaas

2002

Brain Behav Evol

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“…With reference to the visual system, diurnal primates have, for instance, larger striate cortices than nocturnal lineages, and, among the former, frugivory is often associated with an enlarged geniculostriate system, possibly reflecting the development in these species of a sophisticated cone-based color perception (Jacobs, 1981). Diurnal tree shrews (family Tupaiidae) with strongly cone-dominated retinas have greatly enlarged superior colliculus and pulvinar nucleus (Lane et al, 1971). Various morphologic differences also exist between rodents according to their life style.…”

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“…Chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus asiaticus; family Sciuridae) also display a layered dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (Morigiwa et al, 1988). Finally, diurnal ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi; family Sciuridae) have a clearly laminated dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, a hypertrophied superior colliculus (Lane et al, 1971;Major et al, 2003;Van Hooser and Nelson, 2006), and a greater percentage of cortical areas devoted to visual function than nocturnal Norway rats (R. norvegicus; Campi and Krubitzer, 2010).…”

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Retinorecipient areas in the diurnal murine rodent Arvicanthis niloticus: A disproportionally large superior colliculus

Gaillard

Karten

Sauvé

2013

J of Comparative Neurology

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The Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) has a high proportion of cone photoreceptors (∼30-40%) compared with that in the common laboratory mouse and rat (∼1-3%) and may prove a preferable murine model with which to study cone-driven information processing in retina and primary visual centers. However, other than regions involved in circadian control, little is known about the retinorecipient structures in this rodent. We undertook a detailed analysis of the retinal projections as revealed after intravitreal injection of the anterograde tracer cholera toxin subunit B. Retinal efferents were evaluated in 45 subcortical structures. Contralateral projections were always dominant. Major contralateral inputs consisted of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, dorsolateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN), intergeniculate leaflet, ventral geniculate nucleus (magnocellular part), lateroposterior thalamic nucleus, all six pretectal nuclei, superficial layers of the superior colliculus (SC), and the main nuclei of the accessory optic system. Terminals from the contralateral eye were also localized in an unnamed field rostromedial to the dLGN as well as in the subgeniculate thalamic nucleus. Ipsilateral inputs were found mainly in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, dLGN, intergeniculate leaflet, internal sector of the magnocellular part of the ventral geniculate nucleus, olivary pretectal nucleus, and SC optic layer. Retinal afferents were not detected in the basal forebrain or the dorsal raphe nucleus. Morphometric measurements revealed that the superficial layers of the SC are disproportionately enlarged relative to other retinorecipient regions and brain size compared with rats and mice. We suggest that this reflects the selective projection of cone-driven retinal ganglion cells to the SC.

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“…These cells respond to visuosensory stimulation, and their receptive fields are arranged to form a retinotopic map of the visual field (10,11). In contrast, cells in the intermediate gray layer receive input from the substantia nigra, cerebellum, frontal eye fields, and several sensory systems (12)(13)(14)(15)(16), and project primarily to the brainstem circuits that generate saccades (13,17).…”

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Role of intrinsic synaptic circuitry in collicular sensorimotor integration

Lee

Helms

Augustine

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

117

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The superficial gray layer of the superior colliculus contains a map that represents the visual field, whereas the underlying intermediate gray layer contains a vector map of the saccades that shift the direction of gaze. These two maps are aligned so that a particular region of the visual field is represented directly above the neurons that orient the highest acuity area of the retina toward that region. Although it has been proposed that the transmission of information from the visuosensory to the motor map plays an important role in the generation of visually guided saccades, experiments have failed to demonstrate any functional linkage between the two layers. We examined synaptic transmission between these layers in vitro by stimulating the superficial layer while using whole- The superior colliculus receives sensory information about the location of objects and then processes this information to initiate motor command signals for the saccadic head and eye movements that orient gaze toward objects of interest (1). The proximity of these functions within the same structure makes the superior colliculus a powerful model for studying the fundamental problem of how the brain integrates sensory and motor systems to produce behavior.

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Representation of the visual field in the superior colliculus of the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and the tree shrew (Tupaia glis)

Cited by 87 publications

References 31 publications

Convergences in the Modular and Areal Organization of the Forebrain of Mammals: Implications for the Reconstruction of Forebrain Evolution

Convergences in the Modular and Areal Organization of the Forebrain of Mammals: Implications for the Reconstruction of Forebrain Evolution

Retinorecipient areas in the diurnal murine rodent Arvicanthis niloticus: A disproportionally large superior colliculus

Role of intrinsic synaptic circuitry in collicular sensorimotor integration

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