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J Neurophysiol 85: 1436-1443, 2001;
0022-3077/01 $5.00
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The Journal of Neurophysiology Vol. 85 No. 4 April 2001, pp. 1436-1443
Copyright ©2001 by the American Physiological Society

Responses of Neurons in Neonatal Cortex and Thalamus to Patterned Visual Stimulation Through the Naturally Closed Lids

Kristine Krug,* Colin J. Akerman,* and Ian D. Thompson

University Laboratory of Physiology, Oxford OX1 3PT, United Kingdom

Krug, Kristine, Colin J. Akerman, and Ian D. Thompson. Responses of Neurons in Neonatal Cortex and Thalamus to Patterned Visual Stimulation Through the Naturally Closed Lids. J. Neurophysiol. 85: 1436-1443, 2001. In studies of the developing mammalian visual system, it has been axiomatic that visual experience begins with eye-opening. Any role for neuronal activity earlier in development has been attributed to the patterned spontaneous activity found in retina and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). Here we show that, as early as 2 wk before eye-opening, visual stimuli presented through the closed eyelids can drive neuronal activity in LGN and striate cortex of the ferret. At this age, spontaneous activity in cortex is much lower than in LGN, and the visual responses of many cortical, but not geniculate, neurons depend on the orientation of a moving grating. Furthermore the selectivity of cortical neurons to the orientation of gratings presented through the closed eyelids improves with age. Thus neuronal activity patterned by visual experience, rather than by spontaneous retinal activity, is present in visual cortex much earlier than previously thought. This could have important implications for the self-organization of visual cortex.

* K. Krug and C. J. Akerman contributed equally to this work.




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