Early Development of Visual Pathways
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'IOS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Steven C. McLoon'}
One of the central issues in developmental neurobiology concerns                the differentiation of orderly arrangements of cells and their                  connections.  The overall objective of Dr. Casagrande's research                is to understand the mechanisms for the development of cellular                 patterns and connections in the nervous system.  The development                of layers and connections in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)               provides an opportune system for investigation of these                         mechanisms, since this nucleus, which receives retinal inputs                   from the two eyes, is precisely organized and many aspects of its               organization and development are well-documented.                                                                                                               The principal investigator has argued that the development of                   lamination, per se, in the LGN does not require binocular                       competition (competition between retinal afferents arising from                 the two eyes), but that specific functional types of afferents                  are specified to innervate particular territories.  These                       experiments, using prenatal tree shrews, will examine the degree                to which retinal afferents are specified to innervate specific                  LGN territories by: (1) examining the morphology of individual                  retinogeniculate axons during the course of early development                   within the LGN, and (2) examining the morphological development                 of these axons following monocular enucleation performed prior to               retinal innervation of the LGN.                                                                                                                                 The results of this research will provide important and new                     information on developmental processes involved in laminar                      formation in the nervous system.
{'FirstName': 'Vivien', 'LastName': 'Casagrande', 'EmailAddress': 'vivien.casagrande@vanderbilt.edu', 'StartDate': '08/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Vanderbilt University Medical Center', 'CityName': 'Nashville', 'ZipCode': '372032408', 'PhoneNumber': '6153222631', 'StreetAddress': 'Suite 800', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Tennessee', 'StateCode': 'TN'}
{'Code': '1190', 'Text': 'DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8708429.xml'}