Formation of the retina-lamina projection of the cockroach: no evidence for neuronal specificity.

There is a topographical mapping of neural elements onto the lamina neuropile of the optic lobe of the cockroach, such that adjacent ommatidia project to adjacent points (optic cartridges) in the lamina neuropile. Postembryonic growth of the compound eye occurs by addition of new ommatidia to its growing margin. Retinula axons grow from the newly formed ommatidia to the lamina. By transplantation experiments in which the position or the orientation of retinal material is altered, it is shown that retinula axons do not make connections in the lamina with respect to their old position and orientation, but rather, in keeping with their new situations, apparently maintaining a retinotopic mapping upon the optic lobe.