RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Thick Visual Cortex in the Early Blind
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 2205
OP 2211
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5451-08.2009
VO 29
IS 7
A1 Jiefeng Jiang
A1 Wanlin Zhu
A1 Feng Shi
A1 Yong Liu
A1 Jun Li
A1 Wen Qin
A1 Kuncheng Li
A1 Chunshui Yu
A1 Tianzi Jiang
YR 2009
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/7/2205.abstract
AB We investigated the key neurodevelopmental factors that determine cortical thickness, namely synaptogenesis and regression, by analyzing the thickness of the visual cortex in humans with early- and late-onset blindness. The bilateral visual cortices of the early blind were significantly thicker than those of the late blind and the sighted controls, but the latter two groups did not differ significantly. This suggests reduced “pruning” of synapses in the visual cortex, which may be due to a lack of visual experience during a critical developmental period. These findings support the hypothesis that sensory experience is necessary for an appropriate regression and remodeling of neuronal processes and that synaptic regression might be a major determinant of macroscopic anatomical features like cortical thickness.