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Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex
Published on: February 8, 2020
Long-term down-regulation of GABA decreases orientation selectivity without affecting direction selectivity in mouse
Kenta M Hagihara1, Kenichi Ohki
1Department of Molecular Physiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Fukuoka, Japan ; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency Tokyo, Japan.
Frontiers in Neural Circuits
|March 28, 2013
Summary
Decreased GABA in developing brains reduced orientation selectivity in the visual cortex but did not affect direction selectivity. This highlights GABA
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Visual System
Background:
- Inhibitory interneurons are crucial for brain development and visual cortex maturation.
- Understanding the role of inhibitory interneurons in orientation and direction selectivity is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of reduced GABAergic signaling during development on orientation and direction selectivity in the primary visual cortex.
Main Methods:
- Utilized GAD67-GFP (Δneo) mice with decreased newborn GABA expression.
- Employed in vivo two-photon calcium imaging to record neuronal responses to visual stimuli.
Main Results:
- Long-term GABA reduction led to increased neuronal responses to non-preferred orientations, decreasing orientation selectivity.
- Direction selectivity of neurons remained unaffected by the GABA down-regulation.
Conclusions:
- Developmental GABA down-regulation impairs orientation selectivity in the visual cortex.
- These findings suggest GABAergic signaling is critical for establishing orientation selectivity during development.
