Early Visual Experience in Humans: Evidence for a Critical Period in the Development of Binocular Vision

1978 ◽  
pp. 227-239
Author(s):  
Richard N. Aslin ◽  
Martin S. Banks
Keyword(s):  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience

Recovery of Cortical Binocularity and Orientation Selectivity After the Critical Period for Ocular Dominance Plasticity

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 2113-2121 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Liao ◽  
Thomas E. Krahe ◽  
Glen T. Prusky ◽  
Alexandre E. Medina ◽  
Ary S. Ramoa
Keyword(s):  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Ocular Dominance ◽  
Orientation Selectivity ◽  
Monocular Deprivation ◽  
Ocular Dominance Plasticity ◽  
Single Unit Recordings ◽  
Normal Binocular Vision

Cortical binocularity is abolished by monocular deprivation (MD) during a critical period of development lasting from approximately postnatal day (P) 35 to P70 in ferrets. Although this is one of the best-characterized models of neural plasticity and amblyopia, very few studies have examined the requirements for recovery of cortical binocularity and orientation selectivity of deprived eye responses. Recent studies indicating that different mechanisms regulate loss and recovery of binocularity raise the possibility that different sensitive periods characterize loss and recovery of deprived eye responses. In this report, we have examined whether the potential for recovery of binocularity and orientation selectivity is restricted to the critical period. Quantitative single unit recordings revealed recovery of cortical binocularity and full recovery of orientation selectivity of deprived eye responses following prolonged periods of MD (i.e., >3 wk) starting at P49, near the peak of plasticity. Surprisingly, recovery was present when binocular vision was restored after the end of the critical period for ocular dominance plasticity, as late as P83. In contrast, ferrets that had never received visual experience through the deprived eye failed to recover binocularity even though normal binocular vision was restored at P50, halfway through the critical period. Collectively, these results indicate that there is potential for recovery of cortical binocularity and deprived eye orientation selectivity after the end of the critical period for ocular dominance plasticity.

scholarly journals Recovery of glutamatergic and GABAergic protein expression in visual cortex after monocular deprivation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin L. Balsor ◽  
David G. Jones ◽  
Kathryn M. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Protein Expression ◽  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Monocular Deprivation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Synaptic Proteins ◽  
Normal Expression ◽  
Binocular Deprivation

AbstractA collection of glutamatergic and GABAergic proteins participate in regulating experience-dependent plasticity in the visual cortex (V1). Many studies have characterized changes to those proteins caused by monocular deprivation (MD) during the critical period (CP), but less is known about changes that occur when MD stops. We measured the effects of 3 types of visual experience after MD (n=24, 10 male and 14 female); reverse occlusion (RO), binocular deprivation (BD), or binocular vision, on the expression of synaptic proteins in V1 including glutamatergic and GABAergic receptor subunits. Synapsin expression was increased by RO but not affected by the other treatments. BD shifted the balance between glutamatergic and GABAergic receptor subunits to favor GABAAα1. In contrast, BV shifted expression to favor the glutamatergic mechanisms by increasing NMDAR and decreasing GABAAα1 subunits. None of the conditions returned normal expression levels to all of the proteins, but BV was the closest.

scholarly journals Layer-dependent loss and enhancement of geniculostriate and retinotectal pathways in adult human amblyopia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Wen ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Sheng He ◽  
Hong Liu ◽  
Chen Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Selective Reduction ◽  
Visual Pathways ◽  
Adult Human ◽  
Primate Visual Cortex ◽  
Abnormal Visual ◽  
Subcortical Visual Pathways ◽  
Shed Light

Abnormal visual experience during critical period leads to reorganization of neuroarchitectures in primate visual cortex. However, developmental plasticity of human subcortical visual pathways remains elusive. Using high-resolution fMRI and pathway-selective visual stimuli, we investigated layer-dependent response properties and connectivity of subcortical visual pathways of adult human amblyopia. Stimuli presented to the amblyopic eye showed selective response loss in the parvocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus, and also reduced the connectivity to V1. Amblyopic eye's response to isoluminant chromatic stimulus was significantly reduced in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus, while the fellow eye's response robustly increased in the deeper layers associated with increased cortical feedbacks. Therefore, amblyopia led to selective reduction of parvocellular feedforward signals in the geniculostriate pathway, whereas loss and enhancement of parvocellular feedback signals in the retinotectal pathway. These findings shed light for future development of new tools for treating amblyopia and tracking the prognosis.

Cortical Alterations by the Abnormal Visual Experience beyond the Critical Period: A Resting-state fMRI Study on Constant Exotropia

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1386-1392
Author(s):  
Hongmei Shi ◽  
Yanming Wang ◽  
Xuemei Liu ◽  
Lin Xia ◽  
Yao Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resting State ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Abnormal Visual

scholarly journals Active efficient coding explains the development of binocular vision and its failure in amblyopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (11) ◽  
pp. 6156-6162
Author(s):  
Samuel Eckmann ◽  
Lukas Klimmasch ◽  
Bertram E. Shi ◽  
Jochen Triesch
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Coding Theory ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Efficient Coding ◽  
Coding Efficiency ◽  
Vision Development ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Active Binocular Vision

The development of vision during the first months of life is an active process that comprises the learning of appropriate neural representations and the learning of accurate eye movements. While it has long been suspected that the two learning processes are coupled, there is still no widely accepted theoretical framework describing this joint development. Here, we propose a computational model of the development of active binocular vision to fill this gap. The model is based on a formulation of the active efficient coding theory, which proposes that eye movements as well as stimulus encoding are jointly adapted to maximize the overall coding efficiency. Under healthy conditions, the model self-calibrates to perform accurate vergence and accommodation eye movements. It exploits disparity cues to deduce the direction of defocus, which leads to coordinated vergence and accommodation responses. In a simulated anisometropic case, where the refraction power of the two eyes differs, an amblyopia-like state develops in which the foveal region of one eye is suppressed due to inputs from the other eye. After correcting for refractive errors, the model can only reach healthy performance levels if receptive fields are still plastic, in line with findings on a critical period for binocular vision development. Overall, our model offers a unifying conceptual framework for understanding the development of binocular vision.

Visual Experience Is Necessary for Maintenance But Not Development of Receptive Fields in Superior Colliculus

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 1962-1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Carrasco ◽  
K. A. Razak ◽  
S. L. Pallas
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Visual Deprivation ◽  
Visual Development ◽  
Retinotopic Maps ◽  
Nmda Receptor Blockade ◽  
Dark Rearing

Sensory deprivation is thought to have an adverse effect on visual development and to prolong the critical period for plasticity. Once the animal reaches adulthood, however, synaptic connectivity is understood to be largely stable. We reported previously that N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockade in the superior colliculus of the Syrian hamster prevents refinement of receptive fields (RFs) in normal or compressed retinotopic projections, resulting in target neurons with enlarged RFs but normal stimulus tuning. Here we asked whether visually driven activity is necessary for refinement or maintenance of retinotopic maps or if spontaneous activity is sufficient. Animals were deprived of light either in adulthood only or from birth until the time of recording. We found that dark rearing from birth to 2 mo of age had no effect on the timing and extent of RF refinement as assessed with single unit extracellular recordings. Visual deprivation in adulthood also had no effect. Continuous dark rearing from birth into adulthood, however, resulted in a progressive loss of refinement, resulting in enlarged, asymmetric receptive fields and altered surround suppression in adulthood. Thus unlike in visual cortex, early visually driven activity is not necessary for refinement of receptive fields during development, but is required to maintain refined visual projections in adulthood. Because the map can refine normally in the dark, these results argue against a deprivation-induced delay in critical period closure, and suggest instead that early visual deprivation leaves target neurons more vulnerable to deprivation that continues after refinement.

scholarly journals Changes in input strength and number are driven by distinct mechanisms at the retinogeniculate synapse

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 942-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Lin ◽  
Erin Kang ◽  
Chinfei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Deprivation ◽  
Homeostatic Plasticity ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Relay Neuron ◽  
Retinogeniculate Synapse ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate ◽  
Relay Neurons

Recent studies have demonstrated that vision influences the functional remodeling of the mouse retinogeniculate synapse, the connection between retinal ganglion cells and thalamic relay neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). Initially, each relay neuron receives a large number of weak retinal inputs. Over a 2- to 3-wk developmental window, the majority of these inputs are eliminated, and the remaining inputs are strengthened. This period of refinement is followed by a critical period when visual experience changes the strength and connectivity of the retinogeniculate synapse. Visual deprivation of mice by dark rearing from postnatal day (P)20 results in a dramatic weakening of synaptic strength and recruitment of additional inputs. In the present study we asked whether experience-dependent plasticity at the retinogeniculate synapse represents a homeostatic response to changing visual environment. We found that visual experience starting at P20 following visual deprivation from birth results in weakening of existing retinal inputs onto relay neurons without significant changes in input number, consistent with homeostatic synaptic scaling of retinal inputs. On the other hand, the recruitment of new inputs to the retinogeniculate synapse requires previous visual experience prior to the critical period. Taken together, these findings suggest that diverse forms of homeostatic plasticity drive experience-dependent remodeling at the retinogeniculate synapse.

scholarly journals Synapse-selective control of cortical maturation and plasticity engages an interneuron-autonomous synaptic switch

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adema Ribic ◽  
Michael C. Crair ◽  
Thomas Biederer
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Cortical Plasticity ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Cortical Inhibition ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
List Type ◽  
Critical Periods ◽  
Age Related

HighlightsThe synaptogenic molecule SynCAM 1 is selectively regulated by visual experienceSynCAM 1 controls thalamic input onto cortical Parvalbumin (PV+) interneuronsPV+-specific knockdown of SynCAM 1 arrests maturation of cortical inhibitionThalamic excitation onto PV+ interneurons is essential for critical period closureeTOC BlurbRibic et al. show that network plasticity in both young and adult cortex is restricted by the synapse organizing molecule SynCAM 1. On a cellular level, it functions in Parvalbumin-positive interneurons to recruit thalamocortical terminals. This controls the maturation of inhibitory drive and restricts plasticity in the cortex. These results reveal the synaptic locus of cortical plasticity and identify the first cell-autonomous synaptic factor for closure of cortical critical periods.SummaryBrain plasticity peaks early in life and tapers in adulthood. This is exemplified in the primary visual cortex, where brief loss of vision to one eye abrogates cortical responses to inputs from that eye during the critical period, but not in adulthood. The synaptic locus of critical period plasticity and the cell-autonomous synaptic factors timing these periods remain unclear. We here demonstrate that the immunoglobulin protein Synaptic Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (SynCAM 1/Cadm1) is regulated by visual experience and limits visual cortex plasticity. SynCAM 1 selectively controls the number of excitatory thalamocortical (TC) inputs onto Parvalbumin (PV+) interneurons and loss of SynCAM 1 in turn impairs the maturation of TC-driven feed-forward inhibition. SynCAM 1 acts in cortical PV+ interneurons to perform these functions and its PV+-specific knockdown prevents the age-related plasticity decline. These results identify a synapse type-specific, cell-autonomous mechanism that governs circuit maturation and closes the visual critical period.

scholarly journals Effect of Interaction of Age and Changing in Visual Experience During Critical Period of Brain Development on Expression of Melatonin Receptors in Rat’s Hippocampus

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-168
Author(s):  
Sayyed Alireza Talaei ◽  
Mojgan Mohammadifar ◽  
Abolfazl Azami ◽  
Mahmoud Salami ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Melatonin Receptors
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