Cortical Integration of Binocular Input

描述(由申请人提供)：视觉皮质是神经元感受野特性发生戏剧性变化的地方，因此也是视觉世界的表征。一个重要的转换是整合来自右眼和左眼的输入(双眼性)，这为三维视觉世界的表示提供了基础。单个皮质神经元从视觉丘脑接收的兴奋性输入被分成右眼和左眼通道。虽然很明显，视觉皮质是这两种信息流第一次汇聚的地方，但传入兴奋、皮质抑制和棘波阈值在创建三维表示--立体视觉--中所起的作用尚不清楚。利用活体中的全细胞记录，我将研究双目的出现以及这三种机制的贡献。立体视觉的发展对视觉环境很敏感：生命早期的干扰，如眼睛不对准(斜视)，会导致持续的立体视觉缺陷。早期斜视导致皮质神经元在其刺激性反应轮廓中变得高度单眼。斜视对皮层神经元输入的影响尚不清楚。我将检查斜视动物中是否存在潜在的输入，这将使我能够确定皮质细胞反应的变化是由于传入的解剖学重组，还是由于生理调制而使潜在输入保持完整并有可能恢复。与公共健康相关：视觉皮质是右眼和左眼的输入首先整合在一起的地方，为以三维(立体视觉)呈现视觉世界提供基础。正常的立体视觉会因发育过程中出现的双眼视力差异(屈光参差)或错位(斜视)而受到干扰。通过了解视觉功能正常和异常的机制，我们将深入了解有相关视觉缺陷的患者如何恢复正常视力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Visual cortex is the site at which dramatic transformations in neuronal receptive field properties - and thus the representation of the visual world - occur. One important transformation is the integration of inputs from the right and left eyes (binocularity), which provides the basis for the representation of the visual world in three dimensions. The excitatory input that individual cortical neurons receive from the visual thalamus is segregated into right and left eye channels. While it is clear that visual cortex is the site at which these two streams of information converge for the first time, the roles that afferent excitation, cortical inhibition and spike threshold all play in creating a three- dimensional representation - stereo vision - are as yet unknown. Using whole cell recordings in vivo, I will investigate the emergence of binocularity and the contributions of these three mechanisms. The development of stereovision is sensitive to the visual environment: disruptions early in life, such as eye misalignment (strabismus), lead to persistent stereo deficits. Early strabismus causes cortical neurons to become highly monocular in their spiking response profiles. The effect of strabismus on the inputs to the cortical neurons is unknown. I will examine whether latent inputs exist in strabismic animals, which will allow me to determine if the changes in cortical cell responses are due to an anatomical reorganization of afferents or a physiological modulation that leaves latent inputs intact and potentially recoverable. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Visual cortex is the site at which inputs from the right and left eyes are first integrated to provide a basis for the representation of the visual world in three dimensions (stereo vision). Proper stereo vision is disrupted by a difference in acuity between the two eyes (anisometropia) or misaligned eyes (strabismus) occurring during development. By understanding the mechanisms underlying both normal and abnormal visual function, we will gain insight into how normal vision may be restored in patients with related visual deficits.