Topographic relationships of ipsi- and contralateral visual inputs to the rostral tectum opticum in the salamander Plethodon jordani indicate the presence of a horopter.

ABSTRACT

Topographies of ipsilateral and contralateral retinal inputs to the optic tectum were studied by means of electrophysiological multi-unit recordings from the superficial layers. It was found that the nasotemporal coordinate of the visual field is represented along a rostrocaudal axis on the contralateral tectal map and along a caudorostral axis on the ipsilateral map. Electrical stimulation of one tectal hemisphere and recording of the response in the other hemisphere revealed that the ipsilateral map is most probably established by an intertectal pathway. In one tectal hemisphere, inputs from the ipsilateral eye match those from the contralateral eye if stimuli are located at a certain distance at arbitrary horizontal angles within the binocular field. This distance varied from 11.8 to 29.5 mm between the 5 individuals examined.