VISUAL DEPRIVATION DECREASES LONG-TERM POTENTIATION IN RAT VISUAL CORTICAL SLICES
Title
VISUAL DEPRIVATION DECREASES LONG-TERM POTENTIATION IN RAT VISUAL CORTICAL SLICES
Creator
Berry R L; Perkins A T; Teyler T J
Publisher
Brain Research
Date
1993
1993-11
Description
A major finding in the visual plasticity literature is that visual deprivation is effective only during an early 'sensitive' period, which is lengthened by dark rearing. Unresolved is whether the visual cortex is in a normally plastic state prior to light stimulation. This cannot be addressed using paradigms employing light exposure to assess plasticity. Several developmental studies have investigated a plastic phenomenon termed long-term potentiation (LTP) in slices from cat (J. Neurophysiol., 59 (1988) 124-141) and rat (Brain Res., 439 (1988) 222-229) visual cortex. Susceptibility to the induction of LTP parallels the period of sensitivity to visual deprivation. This suggests that slices can be used to assay visual cortical plasticity, avoiding light exposure. In the present study, field potentials were recorded from slices of the primary visual cortices of dark-reared (DR) and control (CONT) Long Evans hooded rats (17 to 21 days). Field potential profiles recorded before and 90 min following tetanic electrical stimulation were subjected to current source density analysis, yielding extracellular current sink amplitudes. Tetanus resulted in LTP in both CONT and DR slices, but DR slices were significantly less potentiated. These results indicate that the primary visual cortex of DR animals is not fully plastic, indicating a role for light stimulation in inducing visual cortical plasticity.
Subject
cortex; rat; plasticity; depression; period; Neurosciences & Neurology; pathways; induction; long-term potentiation; organization; nmda receptors; evoked-potentials; visual cortex; critical; current source density; dark rearing; monocular deprivation; source density analysis
Identifier
Format
Journal Article or Conference Abstract Publication
URL Address
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Rights
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Pages
99-104
Issue
1
Volume
628
Citation
Berry R L; Perkins A T; Teyler T J, “VISUAL DEPRIVATION DECREASES LONG-TERM POTENTIATION IN RAT VISUAL CORTICAL SLICES,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed April 27, 2025, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/8626.