Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol 48, Issue 6 1336-1346, Copyright © 1982 by APS
Recovery of binocular function in kitten visual cortex
F. B. Levitt and R. C. Van Sluyters
1. This paper describes the results of an experiment designed to examine
the ability of cells in the kitten's visual cortex to regain functional
binocular connections following exposure to a brief period of visual
deprivation. 2. Normal 4-wk-old kittens were exposed to a total of 12 h of
optically induced strabismus over a period of 2 days, and single-unit
recordings made the following day indicated that the proportion of striate
cortex cells with binocular receptive fields had decreased sharply as a
result of this episode of strabismic vision. 3. When these kittens were
revived and allowed to experience a recovery period of normal binocular
vision lasting either 3 or 7 wk, cortical binocularity returned to a normal
level. 4. Statistical analysis revealed that the difference in the level of
binocularity observed before and after the period of binocular recovery was
highly significant, and comparison of the results from kittens allowed only
a 3-wk recovery period with those from kittens allowed a 7-wk period
indicated that a similar level of recovery was obtained in each group. 5.
Histological reconstruction of electrode penetrations indicated that the
recovery of binocular receptive fields occurred uniformly across all
cortical laminae. 6. These data are discussed in terms of the results from
previous recovery experiments, the relationship between cortical
binocularity and the ability to maintain binocular fixation, and the
possibility that subliminal cortical input plays a role in the recovery of
functional binocular cells.
