Morphogenesis of the lateral geniculate nucleus in primates

The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) is the part of the mammalian visual system that relays information from the eye to the cerebral cortex. In the rhesus macaque monkey, the LGN exhibits an intricate lamination pattern, which changes midway through the nucleus at a point coincident with small gaps due to the blind spot in the retina. This thesis investigates the hypothesis that the singularities produced by the gaps induce the laminar transition at its normal location. A three-dimensional model of the LGN morphogenesis is developed, in which local cell interactions cause a wave of development of neuronal receptive fields to propagate through the nucleus and establish two distinct lamination patterns. Analysis of the underlying dynamics helps understand the mechanism of propagation of the developmental wave, as well as the mechanism which allows a localized anomaly to trigger a lamination transition and cause the boundary between the lamination patterns to propagate across the nucleus. This is probably the first time the three-dimensional morphogenesis of a brain structure has been modeled in a detailed, biologically-realistic framework.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Tzonev, Svilen Svetozarov

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jackson, E.A.

• Biology, Neuroscience

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1996 Tzonev, Svilen Svetozarov

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

9780591088793
AAI9702696
(UMI)AAI9702696

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/20939