Experience Dependent Visual Cortical Development

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this project is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of experience-dependent cortical plasticity, which must occur normally for the proper development of vision in mammals. The first aim is to assess the contribution of synaptic mobilization of glutamate receptors to deprivation-induced response depression in visual cortex and amblyopia. The second aim is to characterize the recently discovered phenomenon of stimulus-specific response potentiation (SRP), and test the hypothesis that SRP utilizes mechanisms that are revealed by the study of long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP). The proposed research promises to reveal the detailed molecular basis for experience-dependent bidirectional synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex. Besides the obvious relevance of this neural plasticity to the development of visual capabilities in humans and animals, it seems likely that similar processes form the basis for some forms of learning and memory, and also contribute to recovery of brain function after injury. Knowledge of the mechanisms of plasticity can be (and are being) applied to devise strategies to protect juvenile synapses from deleterious effects of environmental deprivation during development, and to promote synaptic strengthening and recovery of function. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]