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The Journal of Neuroscience logoLink to The Journal of Neuroscience
. 1989 Apr 1;9(4):1242–1253. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.09-04-01242.1989

Visual cortex development in the ferret. I. Genesis and migration of visual cortical neurons

CA Jackson 1, JD Peduzzi 1, TL Hickey 1
PMCID: PMC6569864  PMID: 2703875

Abstract

The production of ferret visual cortical neurons was studied using 3H- thymidine autoradiography. The genesis of cortical neurons begins on or slightly before embryonic day 20 (E20) of the 41 d gestational period, continues postnatally until 2 weeks after birth (P14), and follows an inside-out radial gradient with neurons for the deeper cortical layers being generated before those for the superficial layers. Layer I neurons are generated both early (E20-E30) and late (P1-P14) in the period of cortical neurogenesis and, thus, provide at least a partial exception to the inside-out gradient of cortical neurogenesis. Tangential gradients of cortical neurogenesis extend across areas 17 and 18 in both the anterior-to-posterior and lateral-to-medial directions. Neither of these gradients bears a meaningful relationship to the cortical representation of the visual field. Most infragranular and granular layer neurons are generated prenatally, while most supragranular layer neurons are produced postnatally. Neurons destined for a given layer are produced over a period of several days, and the neurons generated on any given day contribute to the formation of 2 or more cortical layers. In general, prenatally generated neurons complete their migration in 1 week or less, while most postnatally generated neurons require approximately 2 weeks to complete their migration.


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