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Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex
Published on: February 8, 2020
Ipsilateral eye cortical maps are uniquely sensitive to binocular plasticity.
Joshua Faguet1, Bruno Maranhao, Spencer L Smith
1Department of Neurobiology, The David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, 635 Charles Young Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|December 5, 2008
Summary
Visual experience is crucial for maintaining neuronal circuits in the mouse visual cortex. Both eyes require patterned vision, with the ipsilateral pathway uniquely sensitive to binocular interactions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Visual System Plasticity
Background:
- Neuronal circuits in the cerebral cortex are established intrinsically and refined by experience.
- Experience-dependent refinement is often attributed to activity-dependent competition for limited cortical resources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of visual experience in refining neuronal circuits in the mouse visual cortex during the critical period of plasticity.
- To examine the impact of visual deprivation on the strength and size of cortical representations for both eyes.
Main Methods:
- Imaging intrinsic optical responses in the mouse visual cortex.
- Comparing responses in normal mice, mice with unilateral or bilateral visual deprivation, and mice with contralateral eye removal.
Main Results:
- Visual deprivation led to a loss of cortical responsiveness to stimulation through the deprived eye for both eyes.
- The ipsilateral eye pathway's responsiveness was influenced by the visual quality of the contralateral eye.
- Both contralateral and ipsilateral eye pathways require visual experience for maintenance.
Conclusions:
- Visual experience is essential for maintaining both contralateral and ipsilateral visual pathways in the cortex.
- The ipsilateral eye pathway exhibits a unique sensitivity to binocular interactions, suggesting complex integration of visual information.
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