 |
 Previous Article | Next Article 
Volume 17, Number 10,
Issue of May 15, 1997
pp. 3684-3709
Copyright ©1997 Society for Neuroscience
Timing of the Critical Period for Plasticity of Ocular Dominance
Columns in Macaque Striate Cortex
Received Dec. 19, 1996; revised Feb. 7, 1997; accepted Feb. 25, 1997.
Jonathan C. Horton and
Davina R. Hocking
Beckman Vision Center, University of California, San Francisco, San
Francisco, California 94143-0730
Visual deprivation induced by monocular eyelid suture, a
laboratory model for congenital cataract, results in shrinkage of ocular dominance columns serving the closed eye. We performed monocular
suture in macaques at ages 1, 3, 5, 7, and 12 weeks to define the
critical period for plasticity of ocular dominance columns. After a
minimum survival of 8 months, complete montages of
[3H]proline-labeled columns were reconstructed from
flat-mounts of striate cortex in both hemispheres. In any given monkey,
visual deprivation induced the columns throughout striate cortex (V1) to retract the same distance from their original borders in layer IVc . After deprivation, the widest columns remained in the foveal representation and along the V1/V2 border, where columns are widest in
control animals. The narrowest deprived columns belonged to the
ipsilateral eye, especially along the horizontal meridian and in the
periphery, where columns are narrowest in control animals. At the
earliest age that we tested (1 week), visual deprivation reduced the
columns to fragments. These fragments always coincided with a
cytochrome oxidase patch, or a short string of patches, in the upper
layers. More severe column shrinkage occurred in layer IVc (parvo)
than layer IVc (magno). The geniculate input to the patches in layer
III (konio) appeared normal after deprivation, despite loss of CO
activity. Surprisingly, the blind spot representation of the open eye
was shrunken by monocular deprivation, although binocular competition
is absent in this region. Our principal finding was that eyelid suture
at age 1 week caused the most severe column shrinkage. With suture at
later ages, the degree of column shrinkage showed a progressive
decline. Deprivation commencing at age 12 weeks caused no column
shrinkage. These results imply that primate visual cortex is most
vulnerable to deprivation during the first weeks of life. Our
experiments should provide further impetus for the treatment of
children with congenital cataract at the earliest possible age.
Key words:
Key Words: ocular dominance column;
critical period;
amblyopia;
visual deprivation;
cytochrome oxidase patch;
flat-mount;
striate
cortex
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
G. Gonzalez-Burgos, S. Kroener, A. V. Zaitsev, N. V. Povysheva, L. S. Krimer, G. Barrionuevo, and D. A. Lewis
Functional Maturation of Excitatory Synapses in Layer 3 Pyramidal Neurons during Postnatal Development of the Primate Prefrontal Cortex
Cereb Cortex,
March 1, 2008;
18(3):
626 - 637.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. R. Duffy, K. M. Murphy, M. P. Frosch, and M. S. Livingstone
Cytochrome Oxidase and Neurofilament Reactivity in Monocularly Deprived Human Primary Visual Cortex
Cereb Cortex,
June 1, 2007;
17(6):
1283 - 1291.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. M. Wensveen, R. S. Harwerth, L.-F. Hung, R. Ramamirtham, C.-s. Kee, and E. L. Smith III
Brief daily periods of unrestricted vision can prevent form-deprivation amblyopia.
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.,
June 1, 2006;
47(6):
2468 - 2477.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. R. Duffy and M. S. Livingstone
Loss of Neurofilament Labeling in the Primary Visual Cortex of Monocularly Deprived Monkeys
Cereb Cortex,
August 1, 2005;
15(8):
1146 - 1154.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. L. Adams and J. C. Horton
The Representation of Retinal Blood Vessels in Primate Striate Cortex
J. Neurosci.,
July 9, 2003;
23(14):
5984 - 5997.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. L. Adams and J. C. Horton
Shadows Cast by Retinal Blood Vessels Mapped in Primary Visual Cortex
Science,
October 18, 2002;
298(5593):
572 - 576.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. E. Schmidt, M. Stephan, W. Singer, and S. Lowel
Spatial Analysis of Ocular Dominance Patterns in Monocularly Deprived Cats
Cereb Cortex,
August 1, 2002;
12(8):
783 - 796.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. M. Murphy, K. R. Duffy, D. G. Jones, and D. E. Mitchell
Development of Cytochrome Oxidase Blobs in Visual Cortex of Normal and Visually Deprived Cats
Cereb Cortex,
February 1, 2001;
11(2):
122 - 135.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Kumagami, B. Zhang, E. L. Smith III, and Y. M. Chino
Effect of Onset Age of Strabismus on the Binocular Responses of Neurons in the Monkey Visual Cortex
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.,
March 1, 2000;
41(3):
948 - 954.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Kaczmarek, S. Zangenehpour, and A. Chaudhuri
Sensory Regulation of Immediate-early Genes c-fos and zif268 in Monkey Visual Cortex at Birth and Throughout the Critical Period
Cereb Cortex,
March 1, 1999;
9(2):
179 - 187.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. C. Horton and D. R. Hocking
Monocular Core Zones and Binocular Border Strips in Primate Striate Cortex Revealed by the Contrasting Effects of Enucleation, Eyelid Suture, and Retinal Laser Lesions on Cytochrome Oxidase Activity
J. Neurosci.,
July 15, 1998;
18(14):
5433 - 5455.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
