RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Visual Deprivation Reactivates Rapid Ocular Dominance Plasticity in Adult Visual Cortex
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 2951
OP 2955
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5554-05.2006
VO 26
IS 11
A1 Hai-Yan He
A1 William Hodos
A1 Elizabeth M. Quinlan
YR 2006
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/11/2951.abstract
AB Brief monocular deprivation (≤3 d) induces a rapid shift in the ocular dominance of binocular neurons in the juvenile rodent visual cortex but is ineffective in adults. Here, we report that persistent, rapid, juvenile-like ocular dominance plasticity can be reactivated in adult rodent visual cortex when monocular deprivation is preceded by visual deprivation. Ocular dominance shifts in visually deprived adults are caused by a rapid depression of the response to stimulation of the deprived eye, previously only reported in juveniles, and a simultaneous potentiation of the response to stimulation of the nondeprived eye. The enhanced ocular dominance plasticity induced by visual deprivation persists for days, even if binocular vision precedes monocular deprivation. Visual deprivation also induces a significant decrease in the level of GABAA receptors relative to AMPA receptors and a return to the juvenile form of NMDA receptors in the visual cortex, two molecular changes that we propose enable the persistent reactivation of rapid ocular dominance plasticity.