Environmental enrichment preserved lifelong ocular dominance plasticity, but did not improve visual abilities

Greifzu, Franziska; Kalogeraki, Evgenia; Löwel, Siegrid

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.02.014

Cited by 23 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Interestingly, the window of induced plasticity exceeded the natural critical period of plasticity in the rodent visual cortex. These data are consistent with previous findings on the plasticity‐enhancing effects of enriched environments on ocular dominance (Greifzu, Kalogeraki, & Löwel, ; Greifzu et al., ). Thus, these findings confirm the view that cortical plasticity is not restricted to early development but can be reactivated and maintained in adulthood.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Fluoxetine‐induced plasticity in the visual cortex outlasts the duration of the naturally occurring critical period

Steinzeig

Cannarozzo

Ċastrén

2019

Eur J of Neuroscience

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Heightened neuronal plasticity expressed during early postnatal life has been thought to permanently decline once critical periods have ended. For example, monocular deprivation is able to shift ocular dominance in the mouse visual cortex during the first months of life, but this effect is lost later in life. However, various treatments, such as the antidepressant fluoxetine, can reactivate a critical period‐like plasticity in the adult brain. When monocular deprivation is supplemented with chronic fluoxetine administration, a major shift in ocular dominance is produced after the critical period has ended. In the current study, we characterized the temporal patterns of fluoxetine‐induced plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex, using in vivo optical imaging. We found that artificially induced plasticity in ocular dominance extended beyond the duration of the naturally occurring critical period and continued as long as fluoxetine was administered. However, this fluoxetine‐induced plasticity period ended as soon as the drug was not given. These features of antidepressant‐induced plasticity may be useful when designing treatment strategies involving long‐term antidepressant treatment in humans.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Fluoxetine‐induced plasticity in the visual cortex outlasts the duration of the naturally occurring critical period

Steinzeig

Cannarozzo

Ċastrén

2019

Eur J of Neuroscience

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show abstract

“…Interestingly, the window of induced plasticity exceeded the natural critical period of plasticity in the rodent visual cortex. These data are consistent with previous findings on the plasticityenhancing effects of enriched environments on ocular dominance (Greifzu et al, 2014(Greifzu et al, , 2016. Thus, these findings confirm the view that cortical plasticity is not restricted to early development, but can be reactivated and maintained in adulthood.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Temporal patterns of fluoxetine-induced plasticity in the mouse visual cortex

Steinzeig

Cannarozzo

Ċastrén

2018

Preprint

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Heightened neuronal plasticity expressed during early postnatal life has been thought to permanently decline once critical periods have ended. For example, monocular deprivation is able to shift ocular dominance in the mouse visual cortex during the first months of life, but this effect is lost later in life. However, various treatments such as the antidepressant fluoxetine can reactivate a critical period-like plasticity in the adult brain. When monocular deprivation is supplemented with chronic fluoxetine administration, a major shift in ocular dominance is produced after the critical period has ended. In the current study, we characterized the temporal patterns of fluoxetineinduced plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex, using in vivo optical imaging. We found that artificially-induced plasticity in ocular dominance extended beyond the duration of the naturally occurring critical period, and continued as long as fluoxetine was administered. However, this fluoxetine-induced plasticity period ended as soon as the drug was not given. Taken together, our data highlights how a combination of pharmacological treatment and environmental change could be used to improve strategies in antidepressant therapy in humans.

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“…Likewise, enrichment or locomotion alone does not strengthen visual performance (Kaneko & Stryker, 2014; Greifzu et al, 2016). This suggests that the recovery from amblyopia in adulthood is a two-stage process that requires (1) the reactivation of plasticity in the adult amblyopic cortex (permissive step) and (2) focused visual experience to stimulate perceptual learning (instructive step).…”

Section: Environmental Reactivation Of Critical Period In Adulthoodmentioning

confidence: 96%

Critical periods in amblyopia

2018

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The shift in ocular dominance (OD) of binocular neurons induced by monocular deprivation is the canonical model of synaptic plasticity confined to a postnatal critical period. Developmental constraints on this plasticity not only lend stability to the mature visual cortical circuitry but also impede the ability to recover from amblyopia beyond an early window. Advances with mouse models utilizing the power of molecular, genetic, and imaging tools are beginning to unravel the circuit, cellular, and molecular mechanisms controlling the onset and closure of the critical periods of plasticity in the primary visual cortex (V1). Emerging evidence suggests that mechanisms enabling plasticity in juveniles are not simply lost with age but rather that plasticity is actively constrained by the developmental up-regulation of molecular ‘brakes’. Lifting these brakes enhances plasticity in the adult visual cortex, and can be harnessed to promote recovery from amblyopia. The reactivation of plasticity by experimental manipulations has revised the idea that robust OD plasticity is limited to early postnatal development. Here, we discuss recent insights into the neurobiology of the initiation and termination of critical periods and how our increasingly mechanistic understanding of these processes can be leveraged toward improved clinical treatment of adult amblyopia.

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Environmental enrichment preserved lifelong ocular dominance plasticity, but did not improve visual abilities

Cited by 23 publications

References 44 publications

Fluoxetine‐induced plasticity in the visual cortex outlasts the duration of the naturally occurring critical period

Fluoxetine‐induced plasticity in the visual cortex outlasts the duration of the naturally occurring critical period

Temporal patterns of fluoxetine-induced plasticity in the mouse visual cortex

Critical periods in amblyopia

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