Visual Deprivation during Mouse Critical Period Reorganizes Network-Level Functional Connectivity

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Experience-dependent plasticity, such as ocular dominance (OD) shift, modifies visual cortex neuron responsiveness after monocular deprivation (MD).
• Previous research suggested OD shifts might alter global neural networks, but this remained unproven.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of acute monocular deprivation (MD) on global neural network functional connectivity.
• To characterize calcium-based resting-state functional connectivity changes in response to MD using wide-field fluorescence optical imaging (WFOI).

Main Methods:

• Utilized wide-field fluorescence optical imaging (WFOI) with genetically encoded calcium indicators (Thy1-GCaMP6f) in female and male mice.
• Analyzed Δ band (0.4–4 Hz) GCaMP6 activity and resting-state functional connectivity during acute MD (3 days).
• Established WFOI performance metrics, including signal-to-noise ratio, within the data processing pipeline.

Main Results:

• Monocular deprivation (MD) reduced Δ band GCaMP6 activity in the deprived visual cortex, indicating decreased excitatory activity.
• Observed decreased interhemispheric visual homotopic functional connectivity post-MD, alongside reduced parietal and motor homotopic connectivity.
• Detected enhanced internetwork connectivity between the visual and parietal cortex, peaking at 2 days after MD.

Conclusions:

• Acute monocular deprivation (MD) induces dynamic reorganization of neural networks, including association cortices.
• Findings support the hypothesis that MD impacts global neural network structure beyond the primary visual cortex.
• Demonstrated WFOI as a viable method for assessing large-scale functional network changes during sensory deprivation.