Fetal occipital cortical neurons transplanted to the rostral cortex can extend and maintain a pyramidal tract axon

Abstract

In adult rats, cortical neurones that send axons through the pyramidal tract are confined to layer V, over the rostral two-thirds of the cerebral hemisphere^1–3. However, during the first postnatal week, many neurones in layer V in the occipital cortex (including the visual cortex) also extend axon collaterals through the pyramidal tract and into the spinal cord^2,4–6. These occipital corticospinal collaterals are completely eliminated over the subsequent 2 weeks⁶, although their cells of origin do not die². We now report that when portions of the occipital cortex from fetal rats are transplanted to more rostral cortical regions of newborn rats, some of the transplanted neurones not only extend axons through the pyramidal tract, but also maintain these axons beyond the stage at which they are normally eliminated. These results suggest that normally-eliminated cortical axons can be ‘rescued’ and, in the case of pyramidal tract neurones, the position of the neurones within the tangential plane of the cortex is a critical factor in determining which neurones retain and which lose their pyramidal tract collaterals.