Lamberto Maffei

TL;DR: It is found that chronic administration of fluoxetine reinstates ocular dominance plasticity in adulthood and promotes the recovery of visual functions in adult amblyopic animals, as tested electrophysiologically and behaviorally.

TL;DR: To determine the sensitive period of rat visual cortex to MD (critical period), the shift in ODD of visual cortical neurones in rats that were subjected to the progressive delay of the onset of fixed MD period is evaluated.

TL;DR: Genetic manipulation of a single molecule, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), has been shown to alter the timing of the critical period of plasticity in mouse visual cortex, establishing a causal relation between neurotrophin action, the development of visual function, and the duration of thecritical period.

TL;DR: In dark-reared transgenic mice, visual acuity, receptive field size of visual cortical neurons, critical period for ocular dominance plasticity, and intracortical inhibition were indistinguishable from those observed in light- reared mice, suggesting that BDNF overexpression is sufficient for the development of aspects of visual cortex in the absence of visual experience.

TL;DR: Recent findings showing that the inhibition-excitation balance controls adult brain plasticity and is at the core of the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, Down syndrome, and Rett syndrome are summarized.