Showing papers on "Monocular vision published in 1984"

Recovery from effects of brief monocular deprivation in the kitten

Abstract: The potential for recovery from the cortical effects of monocular deprivation (MD) was studied in kittens that were briefly deprived and then exposed to various periods of normal binocular vision. In eight kittens, recordings from the hemisphere ipsilateral to the deprived eye revealed that at 4 wk of age, exposure to 12 h of MD (six 2-h sessions spread over 2 days) was sufficient to cause a massive shift in the ocular dominance of striate cortex neurons in favor of the nondeprived eye. Six of these MD kittens were allowed 3 wk of normal binocular vision and then recorded from a second time to assess the extent to which their cortex could recover from the effects of this brief period of deprivation. Data from these animals indicated that now approximately equal numbers of cortical neurons were dominated by each eye and that, while the overall level of binocularity was somewhat lower than that found in normally reared animals, the majority of cells had regained functional binocular connections. The possibility that cortical binocularity could recover even further was explored by allowing four of these six MD kittens to experience an additional 4 wk of binocular vision and then recording from them a third time. These final recordings indicated that following a total of 7 wk of binocular vision, the level of cortical binocularity was no different from that found in normally reared animals. Having demonstrated that normal binocular function can be restored to a cortex in which it had been severely disrupted, we next attempted to characterize the earliest stages of this recovery process by examining the pattern of cortical binocularity in 10 MD kittens that were allowed to experience either 6 or 12 h of binocular vision (given over 1 or 2 days, respectively). Our results indicate that, during the initial day of binocular vision, recovery seems to involve a noncompetitive expansion of functional cortical input from the deprived eye, which joins with input from the nondeprived eye in driving cortical neurons. The level of cortical binocularity continues to increase during the next day of binocular vision, but now there is also a small increase in the proportion of cells driven exclusively by the initially deprived eye--suggesting that there may be an additional competitive component to the early stages of recovery. The results of this study complement our previous report of complete recovery of binocularity following exposure to a brief period of optically induced strabismus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Increase of GABA receptor binding activity after short lasting monocular deprivation in kittens.

Abstract: GABA receptor activity, as measured by [3H]muscimol binding, was investigated in visual and auditory cortex of 5 weeks old kittens with different visual experience. Binocular deprivation since birth did not affect the GABA receptor binding activity. Three days of monocular vision resulted in an increase of [3H]muscimol binding in the visual cortex of both normally reared (144 percent) and binocularly deprived kittens (149 percent). Neither 3 days of normal binocular vision in deprived animals nor 3 days of binocular deprivation in normally reared ones produced significant changes in GABA receptor binding activity. In all experimental conditions [3H]muscimol binding in auditory cortex was similar. We suggest that activation of the GABA-ergic system is due to asymmetric visual input, possibly connected with mechanisms of ocular dominance shift.

Effects of unequal alternating monocular exposure on the sizes of cells in the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus

Abstract: In unequal alternating monocular exposure, each eye receives normal patterned input, but on alternate days and for unequal periods. This imbalance in stimulation produces a behavioral deficit for the less-experienced eye and alters the ability of that eye to activate cortical cells. To determine whether unequal alternating exposure also affects the sizes of cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), we measured the cross-sectional areas of geniculate neurons in seven normally reared cats, 14 cats reared with equal alternating exposure, and 17 cats reared with unequal alternating exposure. We found that, in the LGNs of cats reared with unequal alternating monocular exposure, cells in layers that received their input from the less-experienced eye were smaller than those in layers that received their input from the more-experienced eye. This effect was restricted to the binocular segments of the nucleus, and the difference in cell size was a function of the imbalanced exposure, rather than the length of exposure per se. In control groups given balanced alternating exposure, cell size was not correlated with the length of daily exposure. In cats reared with unequal exposure, the change in cell size was greater in the nucleus ipsilateral to the less-experienced eye. Further, the size of the effect was correlated with the size of the imbalance imposed during rearing: Cats reared with a moderate imbalance (8 hours/day vs. 4 hours/day) showed less change in cell size than cats reared with a large imbalance (8 hours/day vs. 1 hour/day). These results are consistent with those of behavorial and physiological studies and strongly suggest (1) that unequal alternating monocular exposure affects the sizes of cells in the LGN by altering the normal competitive balance between the retinogeniculocortical pathways from the left and right eyes, and (2) that the contralateral pathway has some inherent advantage in this competition. We also found a slight shrinkage of cells in the LGNs of cats reared with equal alternating monocular exposure. Since this effect was restricted to the binocular segments of the nucleus, and was not related to the length of exposure given, it was probably caused by the imbalanced binocular competition that occurred during each day's monocular exposure.

Can functional reorganization of area 17 following monocular deprivation be modified by GM1 internal ester treatment

Abstract: It has been extensively reported that monocular exposure early in life leads to profound alterations in visual cortical areas, where the majority of cells become responsive only to the stimulation of the normal eye. We have investigated a possible effect of the monosialoganglioside internal ester, termed AGF2, on the neuronal cortical plasticity of the kitten's visual cortex following monocular deprivation. Results indicate that in monocularly deprived kittens treated with ganglioside the ocular dominance shift in favor of the normal eye is partially prevented.

Selective adaptation of monocular and binocular neurons in human vision.

Abstract: Psychophysical techniques were used to examine how subpopulations of visual neurons varying in their ocular dominance interacted in determining performance on a visual task. Using an asymmetric alternating adaptation of the left and right eyes, we manipulated the sensitivity of monocularly driven neurons while keeping the sensitivity of binocularly driven neurons constant. Relative threshold elevations were measured in the left eye, right eye, and both eyes of five observers following different ratios of alternating adaptation. It was found that whereas monocularly measured aftereffects varied monotonically as a function of the adaptation duration of the measured eye, the magnitude of the binocularly measured aftereffect remained constant regardless of how the adaptation was divided between the two eyes. This suggests that neurons differing in their ocular dominance pool their activity in determining sensitivity to a test target.

Effect of monocular occlusion on lateral phoria.

Abstract: Several experiments have shown that monocular occlusion (MO) leads to a variety of changes in the visual functioning of the non-occluded eye. An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of 24 hr of MO on the lateral phoria, a binocular phenomenon. The results demonstrated marked tendencies for increased esophoria after MO, especially for near vision. Follow-up tests revealed that normal phoria was re-established 24 hr after the termination of MO. The results are discussed in the context of the use of MO in treatment procedures for visual dysfunctions and their implication for future investigations.