Neural mechanisms of short-term plasticity in the human visual system

Following circumscribed retinal damage, extensive reorganization of topographically organized visual cortical areas has been demonstrated in several species of mammals (including humans). Although reorganization is often studied over extended time scales, neural response properties change within seconds of retinal deafferentation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these short-term effects is essential for developing a complete picture of representational plasticity. One approach to the study of short-term plasticity has been to use an artificial scotoma, a stimulus-induced analog of a retinal scotoma, as a model. Here, we use event-related potentials in an artificial scotoma paradigm to examine 2 aspects of short-term plasticity in the human visual system. First, we investigated the changes within visual representations temporarily deprived of patterned visual input by probing the inner boundaries of an artificial scotoma. We found an enhanced early sensory P1, consistent with a reduction in inhibition (disinhibition), a proposed mechanism of short-term visual plasticity. Second, we investigated mechanisms through which representations of surrounding space invade a visually deprived area by probing the outer boundaries of an artificial scotoma. In this case, a later visual component, the N1, was enhanced, suggesting that feedback may provide a source of unmasked, or invading, activity to visually deprived representations.