Properties of monocular and directional deprivation.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Kittens were reared with a combination of monocular and directional deprivation. The monocular deprivation involved eye suture. The directional deprivation involved rearing for 1 h/day within a drum with vertical stripes on the inside, which was continually rotating around the kitten in 1 direction. In some cases, the direction of rotation was reversed at 5 wk to make a controlled comparison with previous reports. The effect of these deprivations on the properties of cells in the visual cortex was observed. The combination of monocular and directional deprivation leads to a substantial increase in the percentage of omnidirectional cells recorded. This lack of specificity apparently results from the eye suture, not the directional deprivation. The various effects were analyzed as a function of the layer of the cells recorded in the visual cortex. The increase in the percentage of omnidirectional cells and the decrease in the percentage of cells preferring the direction of movement not seen during the critical period occurred in all layers of the cortex. The effect of the combination of monocular and directional deprivation predicted from the effects of each deprivation applied alone was analyzed. Where a parameter is affected by 1 type of deprivation but not the other, the prediction is quite straightforward, e.g., the ratio of the number of cells preferring leftward movement compared to the number of cells preferring rightward movement is determined by the drum rearing, independent of the conditions of eye closure. Where a parameter is affected by both deprivations, the larger effect predominates, e.g., the ocular dominance histogram is affected by eye closure and drum rearing, but the effects of eye closure are larger and tend to obscure the effects of drum rearing on this parameter.