Experience‐dependent plasticity of visual acuity in rats

Prusky, Glen T.; West, Paul W.R; Douglas, Robert M.

doi:10.1046/j.1460-9568.2000.00236.x

Cited by 63 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…1E). Visual acuity of the other eye was within the normal acuity values estimated with VEPs or behaviorally in the rat (11,19). Thus the amblyopic effects of MD are not rescued by 1 week of RS.…”

Section: Lack Of Spontaneous Recovery Of Visual Acuity Of the Long-term-supporting

confidence: 51%

“…Recovery from the amblyopic effect of MD is also progressively less efficient during development. In the adult, visual acuity shows small recoveries even if its final level continues to be pathologically low (10,11). Similarly, a limited recovery of visual acuity can also be observed in adult amblyopic patients in particular conditions (1), although visual acuity remains largely abnormal.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Structural and functional recovery from early monocular deprivation in adult rats

Pizzorusso

Medini

Landi

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

323

312

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Visual deficits caused by abnormal visual experience during development are hard to recover in adult animals. Removal of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans from the mature extracellular matrix with chondroitinase ABC promotes plasticity in the adult visual cortex. We tested whether chondroitinase ABC treatment of adult rats facilitates anatomical, functional, and behavioral recovery from the effects of a period of monocular deprivation initiated during the critical period for monocular deprivation. We found that chondroitinase ABC treatment coupled with reverse lid-suturing causes a complete recovery of ocular dominance, visual acuity, and dendritic spine density in adult rats. Thus, manipulations of the extracellular matrix can be used to promote functional recovery in the adult cortex.amblyopia ͉ chondroitin sulfate ͉ extracellular matrix ͉ glycosaminoglycan ͉ plasticity A n abnormal visual experience during development results in defective visual function. For instance, cataract or anisometropia in early childhood leads to a condition of reduced visual acuity (amblyopia) that can be fully recovered only if the treatment of these conditions is performed during early infancy (1). The lack of substantial recovery from amblyopia in the adult has been attributed to a decline in the plasticity of cortical circuits occurring during late postnatal development. Indeed, studies in animals have shown that monocular deprivation (MD) impairs visual cortical responses to the deprived eye and affects axonal morphology and dendritic spine density only if performed during a critical period of postnatal development (2-6). The ability to recover from the deficits induced by MD declines with age; reopening the previously deprived eye or reverse lidsuturing (RS) in young animals results in full recovery of ocular dominance, but these procedures become progressively less effective with age and are practically ineffective in the adult (7-9). Recovery from the amblyopic effect of MD is also progressively less efficient during development. In the adult, visual acuity shows small recoveries even if its final level continues to be pathologically low (10, 11). Similarly, a limited recovery of visual acuity can also be observed in adult amblyopic patients in particular conditions (1), although visual acuity remains largely abnormal.These observations suggest that the adult visual cortex expresses factors that inhibit experience-dependent plasticity and that develop in conjunction with the end of the critical period. The molecular identity of these factors is only partially known (12); studies performed in rodents have attributed the closure of the critical period to the maturation of inhibitory intracortical circuitry (13,14) and to developmental changes in the expression of molecular factors regulating synaptic plasticity (15, 16). Recently, it has been shown that at least part of the low level of plasticity of the adult visual cortex is due to the condensation of extracellular matrix molecules in perineuronal nets (PNNs). Indeed, chondr...

show abstract

Section: Lack Of Spontaneous Recovery Of Visual Acuity Of the Long-term-supporting

confidence: 51%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and functional recovery from early monocular deprivation in adult rats

Pizzorusso

Medini

Landi

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

323

312

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We have tested the visual acuity of pigmented acallosal mice [29], however, and found that their acuity of about 0.5 c/d was not significantly lower than that of control mice (unpublished observations). In addition, lesions of striate cortex [8], and monocular deprivation in LongEvans rats throughout early life [19], reduce visual acuity by just 30%, not the 50% deficit that characterizes the albino strains in this study. It is possible that the anomalies caused by albinism produce a form of longterm deprivation for the visual system, which results in experience dependent abnormalities in both central and retinal visual processing, and this may produce a massive deprivation-induced deficit in acuity.…”

Section: Albino Rat Strains With Acuity Near 05 C/dmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…We have also reported that visual deprivation in rats during a physiologically-defined critical period early in life [26] results in significantly reduced visual acuity [19]. This suggests that mature visual function in the rat, like that of other mammals [6], is dependent on the nature of visual experience during development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Variation in visual acuity within pigmented, and between pigmented and albino rat strains

Prusky

Harker

Douglas

et al. 2002

Behavioural Brain Research

272

192

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…62,63 Similarly, in animal models, the classic hallmarks of amblyopia are a permanent loss of VA in the affected eye and a pronounced OD shift of visual cortical neurons in favour of the normal eye. [64][65][66][67][68] Traditional amblyopia therapy consists of patching Figure 2 (a) Enriched pups experience higher levels of maternal care compared with standard-reared pups. (A1) The frequency of 'pups alone in the nest' recordings during the first 10 days postpartum in non-environmental enrichment (EE) (white) and EE (black) animals.…”

Section: Rejuvenating the Adult Brainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurturing brain plasticity: impact of environmental enrichment

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental enrichment (EE) is known to profoundly affect the central nervous system (CNS) at the functional, anatomical and molecular level, both during the critical period and during adulthood. Recent studies focusing on the visual system have shown that these effects are associated with the recruitment of previously unsuspected neural plasticity processes. At early stages of brain development, EE triggers a marked acceleration in the maturation of the visual system, with maternal behaviour acting as a fundamental mediator of the enriched experience in both the foetus and the newborn. In adult brain, EE enhances plasticity in the cerebral cortex, allowing the recovery of visual functions in amblyopic animals. The molecular substrate of the effects of EE on brain plasticity is multi-factorial, with reduced intracerebral inhibition, enhanced neurotrophin expression and epigenetic changes at the level of chromatin structure. These findings shed new light on the potential of EE as a non-invasive strategy to ameliorate deficits in the development of the CNS and to treat neurological disorders.

show abstract

Experience‐dependent plasticity of visual acuity in rats

Cited by 63 publications

References 44 publications

Structural and functional recovery from early monocular deprivation in adult rats

Structural and functional recovery from early monocular deprivation in adult rats

Variation in visual acuity within pigmented, and between pigmented and albino rat strains

Nurturing brain plasticity: impact of environmental enrichment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About