Quantitative morphogenetic investigations on fine structural changes in the optic tectum of the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) during ontogenesis.

The morphogenetic differentiation of synapses of the optic tectum of the rainbow trout was investigated at different stages of development (from hatching to adult) and compared with the improvement in visual discrimination (minimum separable). (1) The main phase of synaptogenesis (increase in number of synapses, length of contact zone and number of vesicles) begins about one week after hatching and continues up to the age of one month, when the larvae start swimming freely. (2) Myelination begins 26 days after hatching and induces the end of the synaptogenesis period. (3) The visual discrimination (minimum separable) of trout larvae improves from 30 degrees of arc on the 10th day after hatching to 1 degree on day 30, then to about 14 to 18 min of arc in the adult. The results are discussed with special reference to previous biochemical investigations on changes in the ganglioside composition of the trout brain during comparable periods of development.