Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
06:25
Motion-Acuity Test for Visual Field Acuity Measurement with Motion-Defined Shapes
Published on: February 23, 2024
Critical periods: motion sensitivity is early in all areas
1Department of Neurobiology and Opthalmology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510-8061, USA. nigel.daw@yale.edu
Current Biology : CB
|May 5, 2009
Summary
Early visual deprivation alters global motion sensitivity in the extrastriate cortex. This finding challenges the idea that critical periods for visual development end later in higher brain areas.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Development
- Cortical Plasticity
Background:
- The visual system exhibits critical periods for development, traditionally thought to end earlier in primary visual cortex (V1) than in higher-level areas.
- Previous research suggested that properties of V1, like binocularity, remain plastic longer than those in extrastriate cortex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the plasticity of global motion sensitivity in the extrastriate cortex following early visual deprivation.
- To compare the developmental timing of plasticity between primary and extrastriate visual cortex.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing animal models with controlled early visual deprivation.
- Assessing global motion sensitivity and binocularity through electrophysiological or behavioral techniques.
Main Results:
- Early visual deprivation significantly altered global motion sensitivity, a function of the extrastriate cortex.
- Binocularity, a function of the primary visual cortex, remained plastic in the same subjects.
Conclusions:
- The critical period for global motion sensitivity in the extrastriate cortex appears to be shorter than previously hypothesized.
- Plasticity in higher visual areas can be affected by early sensory experience, challenging established timelines of visual development.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
01:15Equilibrium and Balance
The inner ear assumes dual functionalities of auditory perception and equilibrium maintenance. The vestibule is the organ responsible for balance. This organ contains mechanoreceptors, specifically hair cells, endowed with stereocilia, which aid in deciphering information regarding the position and motion of our heads. Two intrinsic components, the utricle and saccule, help perceive head position, while the semicircular canals track head movement. Neurological messages initiated in the...
01:33Somatosensation
The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
01:14Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
01:15Sensory Modalities
Sensation typically is the process by which the sensory receptors and sense organs detect stimuli from the internal and external environment and transmit this information to the central nervous system for processing.
General senses refer to the broad category of sensory information detected by receptors in the body and can be further grouped into somatic and visceral senses. Somatic sensations include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain and are essential for navigating our environment and...
General senses refer to the broad category of sensory information detected by receptors in the body and can be further grouped into somatic and visceral senses. Somatic sensations include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain and are essential for navigating our environment and...
01:29The Vestibular System
The vestibular system is a set of inner ear structures that provide a sense of balance and spatial orientation. This system is comprised of structures within the labyrinth of the inner ear, including the cochlea and two otolith organs—the utricle and saccule. The labyrinth also contains three semicircular canals—superior, posterior, and horizontal—that are oriented on different planes.