scholarly journals Sensory experience modifies feature map relationships in visual cortex

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun L Cloherty ◽  
Nicholas J Hughes ◽  
Markus A Hietanen ◽  
Partha S Bhagavatula ◽  
Geoffrey J Goodhill ◽  
...  

The extent to which brain structure is influenced by sensory input during development is a critical but controversial question. A paradigmatic system for studying this is the mammalian visual cortex. Maps of orientation preference (OP) and ocular dominance (OD) in the primary visual cortex of ferrets, cats and monkeys can be individually changed by altered visual input. However, the spatial relationship between OP and OD maps has appeared immutable. Using a computational model we predicted that biasing the visual input to orthogonal orientation in the two eyes should cause a shift of OP pinwheels towards the border of OD columns. We then confirmed this prediction by rearing cats wearing orthogonally oriented cylindrical lenses over each eye. Thus, the spatial relationship between OP and OD maps can be modified by visual experience, revealing a previously unknown degree of brain plasticity in response to sensory input.

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey J. Goodhill ◽  
David J. Willshaw

The elastic net (Durbin and Willshaw 1987) can account for the development of both topography and ocular dominance in the mapping from the lateral geniculate nucleus to primary visual cortex (Goodhill and Willshaw 1990). Here it is further shown for this model that (1) the overall pattern of stripes produced is strongly influenced by the shape of the cortex: in particular, stripes with a global order similar to that seen biologically can be produced under appropriate conditions, and (2) the observed changes in stripe width associated with monocular deprivation are reproduced in the model.


2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1715) ◽  
pp. 20160504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megumi Kaneko ◽  
Michael P. Stryker

Mechanisms thought of as homeostatic must exist to maintain neuronal activity in the brain within the dynamic range in which neurons can signal. Several distinct mechanisms have been demonstrated experimentally. Three mechanisms that act to restore levels of activity in the primary visual cortex of mice after occlusion and restoration of vision in one eye, which give rise to the phenomenon of ocular dominance plasticity, are discussed. The existence of different mechanisms raises the issue of how these mechanisms operate together to converge on the same set points of activity. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Integrating Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity’.


2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 2947-2959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Á. Carreira-Perpiñán ◽  
Geoffrey J. Goodhill

Maps of ocular dominance and orientation in primary visual cortex have a highly characteristic structure. The factors that determine this structure are still largely unknown. In particular, it is unclear how short-range excitatory and inhibitory connections between nearby neurons influence structure both within and between maps. Using a generalized version of a well-known computational model of visual cortical map development, we show that the number of excitatory and inhibitory oscillations in this interaction function critically influences map structure. Specifically, we demonstrate that functions that oscillate more than once do not produce maps closely resembling those seen biologically. This strongly suggests that local lateral connections in visual cortex oscillate only once and have the form of a Mexican hat.


1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 709-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Fagiolini ◽  
Tommaso Pizzorusso ◽  
Nicoletta Berardi ◽  
Luciano Domenici ◽  
Lamberto Maffei

1996 ◽  
Vol 732 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 237-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Carlos L Silveira ◽  
Fernando Márcio G de Mátos ◽  
Alessandro Pontes-Arruda ◽  
Cristovam W Picanço-Diniz ◽  
José Agusto P Muniz

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 775-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Lazarus ◽  
Z. Josh Huang

In the rodent primary visual cortex, maturation of GABA inhibitory circuitry is regulated by visual input and contributes to the onset and progression of ocular dominance (OD) plasticity. Cortical inhibitory circuitry consists of diverse groups of GABAergic interneurons, which display distinct physiological properties and connectivity patterns. Whether different classes of interneurons mature with similar or distinct trajectories and how their maturation profiles relate to experience dependent development are not well understood. We used green fluorescent protein reporter lines to study the maturation of two broad classes of cortical interneurons: parvalbumin-expressing (PV) cells, which are fast spiking and innervate the soma and proximal dendrites, and somatostatin-expressing (SOM) cells, which are regular spiking and target more distal dendrites. Both cell types demonstrate extensive physiological maturation, but with distinct trajectories, from eye opening to the peak of OD plasticity. Typical fast-spiking characteristics of PV cells became enhanced, and synaptic signaling from PV to pyramidal neurons became faster. SOM cells demonstrated a large increase in input resistance and a depolarization of resting membrane potential, resulting in increased excitability. While the substantial maturation of PV cells is consistent with the importance of this source of inhibition in triggering OD plasticity, the significant increase in SOM cell excitability suggests that dendrite-targeted inhibition may also play a role in OD plasticity. More generally, these results underscore the necessity of cell type-based analysis and demonstrate that distinct classes of cortical interneurons have markedly different developmental profiles, which may contribute to the progressive emergence of distinct functional properties of cortical circuits.


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