Induction of somatic sensory inputs to the lateral geniculate nucleus in congenitally blind mice and in phenotypically normal mice.

The incidence of aberrant innervation of the lateral geniculate nucleus by ascending somatic sensory axons was examined following injections of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated with horseradish peroxidase into the dorsal column nuclei of adult mice which were: (1) normal; (2) normal, but bilaterally enucleated on the day of birth; (3) normal, but received a large unilateral lesion of the rostral cortex on the day of birth; (4) normal, bilaterally enucleated, as well as unilaterally lesioned in the rostral cortex on the day of birth; (5) homozygous for an ocular retardation mutation (orj/orj); or (6) homozygous for the orj mutation and received a large unilateral lesion of the rostral cerebral cortex on the day of birth. In the phenotypically normal animals which were untreated, no somatic sensory inputs enter into the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. A few labeled axons enter into and arborize within the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in normal animals which received bilateral enucleations or unilateral rostral cortical lesions on the day of birth. However, in congenitally blind animals and in phenotypically normal animals which received bilateral enucleations as well as unilateral rostral cortical lesions on the day of birth, a significant number of labeled axons enter into and arborize within the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Among all these experimental groups, the densest innervation of the lateral geniculate nucleus occurred in congenitally blind animals which received rostral cortical lesions on the day of birth. In these, robust arborizations of labeled somatic sensory axons occupy a substantial extent of the lateral geniculate nucleus. These results not only demonstrate that ascending somatic sensory axons can be rerouted to the lateral geniculate nucleus, but also indicate that the ability of a thalamic afferent pathway to undergo extensive reorganization and to innervate inappropriate thalamic targets following early perturbations is not unique to the retinal projection (in which this has previously been demonstrated), and may be a more general characteristic of the major thalamic afferent systems.