scholarly journals Cortical plasticity following stripe rearing in the marsupialMonodelphis domestica: neural response properties of V1

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 566-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Dooley ◽  
Michaela S. Donaldson ◽  
Leah A. Krubitzer
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Monodelphis Domestica ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Dependent Plasticity ◽  
Marsupial Species

The functional organization of the primary visual area (V1) and the importance of sensory experience in its normal development have been well documented in eutherian mammals. However, very few studies have investigated the response properties of V1 neurons in another large class of mammals, or whether sensory experience plays a role in shaping their response properties. Thus we reared opossums ( Monodelphis domestica) in normal and vertically striped cages until they reached adulthood. They were then anesthetized using urethane, and electrophysiological techniques were used to examine neuronal responses to different orientations, spatial and temporal frequencies, and contrast levels. For normal opossums, we observed responses to the temporal and spatial characteristics of the stimulus to be similar to those described in small, nocturnal, eutherian mammals such as rats and mice; neurons in V1 responded maximally to stimuli at 0.09 cycles per degree and 2.12 cycles per second. Unlike other eutherians, but similar to other marsupials investigated, only 40% of the neurons were orientation selective. In stripe-reared animals, neurons were significantly more likely to respond to vertical stimuli at a wider range of spatial frequencies, and were more sensitive to gratings at lower contrast values compared with normal animals. These results are the first to demonstrate experience-dependent plasticity in the visual system of a marsupial species. Thus the ability of cortical neurons to alter their properties based on the dynamics of the visual environment predates the emergence of eutherian mammals and was likely present in our earliest mammalian ancestors.NEW & NOTEWORTHY These results are the first description of visual response properties of the most commonly studied marsupial model organism, the short-tailed opossum ( Monodelphis domestica). Further, these results are the first to demonstrate experience-dependent plasticity in the visual system of a marsupial species. Thus the ability of cortical neurons to alter their properties based on the dynamics of the visual environment predates the emergence of eutherian mammals and was likely present in our earliest mammalian ancestors.

scholarly journals Experience-dependent development and maintenance of binocular neurons in the mouse visual cortex

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle R. Jenks ◽  
Jason D. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Binocular Vision ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Dependent Plasticity ◽  
Eye Opening

ABSTRACTThe normal development of neuronal circuits requires both hard-wired gene expression and experience. Sensory processing, such as vision, is especially sensitive to perturbations in experience. However, the exact contribution of experience to neuronal visual response properties and binocular vision remains unknown. To determine how visual response properties developin vivo, we used single cell resolution two-photon calcium imaging of mouse binocular visual cortex at multiple time-points after eye opening. Few neurons are binocularly responsive immediately after eye opening and respond solely to either the contralateral or ipsilateral eye. Binocular neurons emerge during development, which requires visual experience, and show specific tuning of visual response properties. As binocular neurons emerge, activity between the two eyes becomes more correlated in the neuropil. Since experience-dependent plasticity requires the expression of activity-dependent genes, we determined whether the plasticity geneArcmediates the development of normal visual response properties. Surprisingly, rather than mirroring the effects of visual deprivation, mice that lackArcshow increased numbers of binocular neurons during development. Strikingly, removingArcin adult binocular visual cortex increases the numbers of binocular neurons and recapitulates the developmental phenotype, suggesting cortical circuits that mediate visual processing require ongoing experience-dependent plasticity. Thus, experience is critical for the normal development and maintenance of circuits required to process binocular vision.

scholarly journals Visual response properties of striate cortical neurons projecting to V2 in macaque

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 752-752
Author(s):  
Y. El-Shamayleh ◽  
R. D. Kumbhani ◽  
N. T. Dhruv ◽  
J. A. Movshon
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Response Properties

Visual Adaptation: Physiology, Mechanisms, and Functional Benefits

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 3155-3164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kohn
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Visual Adaptation ◽  
Visual Neurons ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Dependent Plasticity ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Functional Benefit ◽  
Rich History

Recent sensory experience affects both perception and the response properties of visual neurons. Here I review a rapid form of experience-dependent plasticity that follows adaptation, the presentation of a particular stimulus or ensemble of stimuli for periods ranging from tens of milliseconds to minutes. Adaptation has a rich history in psychophysics, where it is often used as a tool for dissecting the perceptual mechanisms of vision. Although we know comparatively little about the neurophysiological effects of adaptation, work in the last decade has revealed a rich repertoire of effects. This review focuses on this recent physiological work, the cellular and biophysical mechanisms that may underlie the observed effects, and the functional benefit that they may afford. I conclude with a brief discussion of some important open questions in the field.

Contributions of Y- and W-cell pathways to response properties of cat superior colliculus neurons: comparison of antibody- and deprivation-induced alterations

1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1157-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Crabtree ◽  
P. D. Spear ◽  
M. A. McCall ◽  
K. R. Jones ◽  
S. E. Kornguth
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Antibody Concentration ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
High Antibody ◽  
Stimulus Velocity ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
High Antibody Concentration ◽  
Binocular Deprivation ◽  
In Cells

The cat's superior colliculus (SC) receives direct inputs from retinal W-cells (a W-D input) and Y-cells (Y-D input) and an indirect Y-cell input via the lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex (Y-I input). In previous studies we have shown that intraocular injection of antibodies raised against large retinal ganglion cells produces a dose-dependent reduction in the Y retinogeniculate pathway. Furthermore, when a sufficiently high antibody concentration is used, there is a substantial loss of the Y pathway and no apparent loss of the W pathway. In the present study, we used the antibodies to investigate the contributions of the Y and W pathways to functional organization within the SC. Binocular injections of low (330 micrograms/100 microliters) or high (1,000 micrograms/100 microliters) antibody concentrations were made. The antibody-mediated effects on SC cells' response properties were compared directly with effects of early binocular deprivation, which have been attributed to a loss of Y-I input. Extracellular single-cell recordings were made from the SC, and cells were classified as receiving Y-D, Y-I, or W-D inputs on the basis of their response latencies to electrical stimulation of the optic chiasm and optic tract. Injections of the low antibody concentration produced no significant effects on inputs to the SC. However, injections of the high antibody concentration resulted in a 70% reduction in SC cells with a Y-D input and an 82% reduction in SC cells with a Y-I input. There was no effect on the percentage of cells with a W-D input. Binocular deprivation produced a 76% reduction in the percentage of cells with Y-I input. Visual response properties of SC cells also were assessed. Injections of the high antibody concentration produced a 55% reduction in cells that respond with a directional preference and a 51% reduction in cells that respond to high-velocity stimuli. Binocular deprivation produced a 78% reduction in the proportion of directional cells and a 25% reduction in cells that respond to the ipsilateral eye. Taken together, the results of this and previous studies using cortical lesions, visual deprivation, and immunoablation suggest that Y-D input is the primary basis for responses to high stimulus velocity, Y-I input is an important basis for directional responses and response through the ipsilateral eye, and W-D input is important for responses to low stimulus velocity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Visual Avoidance in Xenopus Tadpoles Is Correlated With the Maturation of Visual Responses in the Optic Tectum

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 803-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Dong ◽  
Ryan H. Lee ◽  
Heng Xu ◽  
Shelley Yang ◽  
Kara G. Pratt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Optic Tectum ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Specific Stimulus ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Temporal Properties

The optic tectum is central for transforming incoming visual input into orienting behavior. Yet it is not well understood how this behavior is organized early in development and how it relates to the response properties of the developing visual system. We designed a novel behavioral assay to study the development of visually guided behavior in Xenopus laevis tadpoles. We found that, during early development, visual avoidance—an innate, tectally mediated behavior—is tuned to a specific stimulus size and is sensitive to changes in contrast. Using in vivo recordings we found that developmental changes in the spatial tuning of visual avoidance are mirrored by changes in tectal receptive field sharpness and the temporal properties of subthreshold visual responses, whereas contrast sensitivity is affected by the gain of the visual response. We also show that long- and short-term perturbations of visual response properties predictably alter behavioral output. We conclude that our assay for visual avoidance is a useful functional measure of the developmental state of the tectal circuitry. We use this assay to show that the developing visual system is tuned to facilitate behavioral output and that the system can be modulated by neural activity, allowing it to adapt to environmental changes it encounters during development.

scholarly journals Three rules govern thalamocortical connectivity of fast-spike inhibitory interneurons in the visual cortex

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulia Bereshpolova ◽  
Xiaojuan Hei ◽  
Jose-Manuel Alonso ◽  
Harvey A Swadlow
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Field Potential ◽  
Inhibitory Interneurons ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Layer 4 ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
Feed Forward Inhibition ◽  
Fast Spike

Some cortical neurons receive highly selective thalamocortical (TC) input, but others do not. Here, we examine connectivity of single thalamic neurons (lateral geniculate nucleus, LGN) onto putative fast-spike inhibitory interneurons in layer 4 of rabbit visual cortex. We show that three ‘rules’ regulate this connectivity. These rules concern: (1) the precision of retinotopic alignment, (2) the amplitude of the postsynaptic local field potential elicited near the interneuron by spikes of the LGN neuron, and (3) the interneuron’s response latency to strong, synchronous LGN input. We found that virtually all first-order fast-spike interneurons receive input from nearly all LGN axons that synapse nearby, regardless of their visual response properties. This was not the case for neighboring regular-spiking neurons. We conclude that profuse and highly promiscuous TC inputs to layer-4 fast-spike inhibitory interneurons generate response properties that are well-suited to mediate a fast, sensitive, and broadly tuned feed-forward inhibition of visual cortical excitatory neurons.

scholarly journals The Language of Vision*

Perception ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 030100662199149
Author(s):  
Patrick Cavanagh
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Language Planning ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Visual Language ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Visual Processes ◽  
First Pass

The descriptions of surfaces, objects, and events computed by visual processes are not solely for consumption in the visual system but are meant to be passed on to other brain centers. Clearly, the description of the visual scene cannot be sent in its entirety, like a picture or movie, to other centers, as that would require that each of them have their own visual system to decode the description. Some very compressed, annotated, or labeled version must be constructed that can be passed on in a format that other centers—memory, language, planning—can understand. If this is a “visual language,” what is its grammar? In a first pass, we see, among other things, differences in processing of visual “nouns,” visual “verbs,” and visual “prepositions.” Then we look at recursion and errors of visual grammar. Finally, the possibility of a visual language also raises the question of the acquisition of its grammar from the visual environment and the chance that this acquisition process was borrowed and adapted for spoken language.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document