[Cervical sensitivity participates in the development of cortical coding of orientation]

Extraocular proprioceptive afferents associated with eye movements had been shown to be necessary during visual experience to allow the development of orientation selectivity in visual cortical neurons. In the present study, it has been demonstrated that cervical proprioceptive afferents were also involved in the process. Their suppression reduced the level of orientation selectivity reach after a controlled visual experience compared to the level observed in intact animals. Similarly, this suppression increased the deleterious effects of a deafferentation of eye muscles when both were associated. These results show that neck muscle proprioceptive afferents are involved in the process of development of orientation selectivity by visual cortical neurons.