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Cellular and Synaptic Architecture of the Optic Tectum

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Frog Neurobiology

Abstract

In the frog, five different optic centers are distinguished. Three of them, the nucleus of Bellonci, the lateral geniculate nucleus and the pretectal neuropil area are located in the thalamus; the nucleus of the basal optic root and the optic tectum are mesencephalic centers. The fiber connections to these centers are fairly well understood from a number of recent works (Rubinson, 1968; Scalia et al., 1968; Lázár and Székely, 1969; Lázár, 1969; Trachtenberg and Ingle, 1974), but with the exception of the optic tectum, very little is known about their structures. The first data on the structure of the optic tectum date back to the work of Ramon (1890), and his picture of the tectal structure became widely known from Cajal’s (1911) magnificent book. This early work was soon followed by a number of studies by distinguished investigators of the amphibian central nervous system (Wlassak, 1893; Gaupp, 1899; Herrick, 1925; Larsell, 1931), and the optic tectum became one of the best understood parts of the frog’s brain.

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  1. G. Székely
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  2. G. Lázár
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Székely, G., Lázár, G. (1976). Cellular and Synaptic Architecture of the Optic Tectum. In: Frog Neurobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-66316-1_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-66316-1_12

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