Ontogenetic Characteristics of the Organization of Corticocortical Connections between the Primary Visual Cortex and the Lateral Suprasylvian Area of the Cat Brain

Studies on 10 cats aged five and 12 weeks included qualitative and quantitative analyses of the distribution in field 17 of initial neurons organizing corticocortical connections with the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian gyrus (PMLS) of the brain using retrograde labeling with horseradish peroxidase. The PMLS area is a higher center for processing information relating to the movement of visual stimuli. Ontogenetic characteristics of the formation of the ordered (clustered) organization of initial neurons in field 17 were identified. An age-related decrease in the density of initial neurons in field 17 was found, from 125.2 ± 69.8 cells/mm² in kittens aged five weeks to 34.7 ± 17.4 cells/mm² in 12-week-old kittens (p = 0.05). During the period between postnatal weeks 5 and 12, there was an increase in the size of the labeled area containing the majority of initial neurons. The morphofunctional aspects of the formation of the ordered structure of corticocortical connections between field 17 and the PMLS during postnatal ontogenesis and its possible relationship with the development of the function of the visual perception of moving objects are discussed.