The Receptive Fields of Dendrites and Spines in the Visual Cortex

Medical University Of South Carolina, Charleston SC

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A single neuron in the visual cortex receives many thousands of synaptic inputs on its dendrites from other cortical neurons. The functions of these various synaptic inputs in sensory signal processing are unknown. We label single neurons in vivo such that the entire dendritic tree can be visualized and mapped functionally. We examine whether subsets of synapses on dendrites process different stimulus features in the environment. These synapses on cortical neurons may play an important role in experience dependent plasticity and the recovery of binocular vision after the initially detrimental effects of altered visual experience such as during amblyopia. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Amblyopia is a common cause of visual impairment in children where circuits within the brain favor the processing of visual stimuli from just one of the two eyes. This award will support research on structural and functional imaging of neurons in the visual cortex that may be affected by amblyopia.