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Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex
Published on: February 8, 2020
The development of visual areas depends differently on visual experience
Wen Qin1, Yong Liu, Tianzi Jiang
1Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Plos One
|January 12, 2013
Summary
Congenitally blind individuals show distinct visual cortex development. Structural and functional changes are hierarchical, with early visual areas affected more than higher-tier areas, highlighting varied reliance on visual experience.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Visual experience is crucial for visual cortex development.
- However, some higher-tier visual areas retain functional organization in congenital blindness.
- This suggests unequal dependence of visual area maturation on visual input.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hierarchical dependence of visual cortex development on visual experience.
- To validate findings using a multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach.
Main Methods:
- Multimodal MRI was employed in congenitally blind subjects.
- Cortical thickness and resting-state functional connectivity were analyzed.
- Comparisons were made between early and higher-tier visual areas, and between ventral and dorsal streams.
Main Results:
- Congenitally blind subjects exhibited increased cortical thickness in early visual areas but not higher-tier ones.
- Decreased functional connectivity with the primary somatosensory cortex was more prominent in early visual areas and the ventral stream.
- Normal or increased functional connectivity was observed between ipsilateral higher-tier and early visual areas.
Conclusions:
- Visual cortex structural development depends hierarchically on visual experience.
- Functional organization development also shows differential dependence on visual input.
- An indirect corticocortical pathway may facilitate somatosensory information reaching early visual areas in congenital blindness.
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