Density of SMI-32 Immunopositive Neurons in Eye-Specific Layers of Lateral Geniculate Nuclei in Kittens Reared with Monocular Deprivation and Unilateral Convergent Squint

• Published in: Medical sciences forum Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 3
• Main Authors: Polina Y. Shkorbatova, Vsevolod A. Lyakhovetskii, Svetlana V. Alexeenko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.07.2021
• Subjects: cat; lateral geniculate nucleus; monocular deprivation; neurofilaments; squint
• ISSN: 2673-9992
• DOI: 10.3390/IECBS2021-10666

To reveal the dynamics of the development of the morphological changes in lateral geniculate nuclei caused by binocular vision impairment, we study the changes in density of SMI-32 immunopositive neurons in the frontal sections of the LGNd of both hemispheres of 2- and 3-month-old kittens reared with monocular deprivation or unilateral convergent squint. We develop a custom software to divide the binocular part of the A-layers into 10 consecutive sectors and calculate the number of SMI-32 immunopositive neurons in each of them. The neuronal density was calculated and compared between groups in sectors with the same eccentricity. In monocularly deprived animals, a decline in the neuronal density relative to the control group was found in the layers innervated from the deprived eye in both age groups, regardless of eccentricity. However, in the strabismic kittens, the decrease in neuronal density was revealed only in the peripheral sectors of layer A1, driven by the deviated eye. The width of this area of reduced Y-neuron density was larger in the 3-month-old kittens, indicating that the development of the disorder has not yet stabilized at this age. The results may be interpreted as morpho-physiological correlates of different types of human amblyopia.