Deafferentation of the visual cortex: The effect of cortical cells in normal and in early monocularly deprived cats

U. Yinon*, M. Podell, S. Goshen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The optic tract was unilaterally transected and receptive field mapping and unit recordings were made for cells in the boundary of areas 17-18 in the deafferented and in the intact visual cortex of adult cats monocularly deprived during the critical developmental period. Three groups of adult animals served as controls: normal cats, early monocularly deprived (MD) cats, and optic cract transected cats. In contrast to the activity found in the intact hemisphere, the deafferented hemisphere of the experimental group was almost completely unresponsive. The ocular dominance distribution in the intact hemisphere of the experimental group (75.0% cells monocularly driven by the normal eye) was similar to that of the control MD cats (78.1%). This indicates that cutting the optic tract after the critical period does not affect the ocular dominance distribution of cortical cells induced in the intact hemisphere by early monocular deprivation. The reduction found in the proportion of visually responsive cells and the orientation and direction selective cells in the intact hemisphere of the experimental group, is mainly due to the isolation of the fellow hemisphere from its direct visual input, and the subsequent inactivation of the callosal pathway interconnecting the two visual areas.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)486-494
Number of pages9
JournalExperimental Neurology
Volume83
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1984

Funding

FundersFunder number
Charles E. Smith Family Foundation7/83
Israel Institute for Psychobiology

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Deafferentation of the visual cortex: The effect of cortical cells in normal and in early monocularly deprived cats'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this