Cortical Integration of Binocular Input

描述（由申请人提供）：视觉皮层是神经元感受野特性发生戏剧性变化的部位，因此是视觉世界的表征。一个重要的转换是来自右眼和左眼的输入的整合（双目），这为三维视觉世界的表示提供了基础。单个皮层神经元从视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，视觉皮层是这两种信息流第一次汇聚的地方，但传入兴奋、皮层抑制和尖峰阈值在创造三维表征--立体视觉--中所起的作用还不清楚。使用全细胞记录在体内，我将调查出现的双眼和这三种机制的贡献。立体视觉的发展对视觉环境很敏感：生命早期的破坏，如眼睛错位（斜视），导致持续的立体缺陷。早期斜视导致皮层神经元在其尖峰响应轮廓中变得高度单眼。斜视对皮层神经元的输入的影响尚不清楚。我将研究斜视动物是否存在潜在输入，这将使我能够确定皮层细胞反应的变化是否是由于传入神经的解剖重组或生理调节，使潜在输入保持完整并可能恢复。公共卫生相关性：视觉皮层是右眼和左眼的输入首先整合的部位，为三维视觉世界的表示（立体视觉）提供基础。正常的立体视觉被发育过程中出现的两只眼睛之间的敏锐度差异（屈光参差）或眼睛错位（斜视）所破坏。通过了解正常和异常视觉功能的机制，我们将深入了解如何在相关视觉缺陷患者中恢复正常视力。

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.