The visual cortex is an essential part of the brain for processing visual information.It exhibits structural and functional plasticity,which is crucial for adapting to complex visual environments.The quintessential ma...The visual cortex is an essential part of the brain for processing visual information.It exhibits structural and functional plasticity,which is crucial for adapting to complex visual environments.The quintessential manifestation of visual cortical plasticity is ocular dominance plasticity during the critical period,which involves numerous cellular and molecular events.While previous studies have emphasized the role of visual cortical neurons and their associated functional molecules in visual plasticity,recent findings have revealed that structural factors such as the extracellular matrix and glia are also involved.Investigating how these molecules interact to form a complex network that facilitates plasticity in the visual cortex is crucial to our understanding of the development of the visual system and the advancement of therapeutic strategies for visual disorders like amblyopia.展开更多
Nitric oxide is an important neuromodulator in the brain and is involved in the development of visual system. But it is not clear how nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase （NOS） are involved in the developing visua...Nitric oxide is an important neuromodulator in the brain and is involved in the development of visual system. But it is not clear how nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase （NOS） are involved in the developing visual cortex of rodents. Thus we examined the expression of NOS activity in the postnatal developing visual cortex of the golden hamster by using histochemical technique for NADPH-diaphorase （NADPH-d）. A heavily stained NADPH-d band was observed in the neuropil of the visual cortex. This NADPH-d band initially appeared in the cortical plate from the day of birth （P0） to postnatal day 4 （P4）. From P7 to P21, this band was confined to area 17 and migrated to the deeper layers Ill IV and V VI before it eventually disappeared at P28. Such developmental trends of the band correlated well with the process of formation and establishment of the geniculo-cortical projection patterns. Thus, the areal specific development of the band suggests that NOS is closely related to the cortical differentiation and synaptic formation of the primary visual cortex. On the other hand, monocular eye enucleation on P1 could not alter the appearance of this NADPH-d positive band, indicating a non-activity dependant role of NOS. In addition, differences in the laminar distributions and developmental sequence between the heavily and lightly stained NADPH-d positive neurons during development suggest that they play different roles in the development.展开更多
Purpose: To study the property of LTP in layers Ⅱ～Ⅳof the rats visual cortex at different postnatal days induced by pairing low-frequency stimulation at layer Ⅳ with post synaptic depolarization in order to explor...Purpose: To study the property of LTP in layers Ⅱ～Ⅳof the rats visual cortex at different postnatal days induced by pairing low-frequency stimulation at layer Ⅳ with post synaptic depolarization in order to explore the synaptic and cellular mechanism of experience-dependent plasticity in the visual cortex.Methods: Postsynaptic currents (PSCs) of layers Ⅱ～Ⅳ in visual cortex slices of Wistar rats aged P0-29 d were recorded by patch-clamp whole cell recording method. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was induced by low-frequency stimulation (LFS) at 1Hz for 60～90 s.Each pulse of the LFS paired with depolarization of post-synaptic neurons to -20 mV.100μM APV, a kind of competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, was both applied to some slices to test the property of LTP.Results: 1. The LTP incidence was very low before P10d (5/34), and increased rapidly to the top at P15-24 d (17/28), then decreased sharply to 1/5 at P25-29 d, coinciding well with the critical period of plasticity of rat visual cortex. The LTP incidence of P15-29d (after eye opening, 18/33) was significantly higher than that of P0-14 d (before eye opening, 12/43, P ＜ 0.05). 2. Compared with non-APV applied group (30/76), LTP incidence of APV applied group (4/33) was significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.01 ). There were 4 Ⅳ-Ⅳ horizontal synapses. APV application could not block the LTP induction.Conclusions: 1. LTP was a reflection of naturally occurring, experience-dependent plasticity in rat visual cortex. The patterned visual stimuli received after eye opening might be an activation factor of the synaptic plasticity. 2. LTP of visual cortex induced by LFS in layer Ⅳ paired with postsynaptic depolarization was NMDA receptor dependent during the critical period of visual plasticity. However, there were LTP existed in Ⅳ-Ⅳ horizontal synapses which could not be blocked by 100μM APV.展开更多
In the present study, a feline model of strabismic amblyopia was established during a sensitive developmental period, and the influence of levodopa methyl ester and levodopa on nerve growth factor expression in the vi...In the present study, a feline model of strabismic amblyopia was established during a sensitive developmental period, and the influence of levodopa methyl ester and levodopa on nerve growth factor expression in the visual cortex （area 17） was compared. Pattern visual-evoked potential and immunohistochemistry results showed that levodopa methyl ester and levodopa treatment shortened P10o wave latency, increased Pleo amplitude, and increased the number of endogenous nerve growth factor-positive cells in visual cortex levels. In particular, the effects of levodopa methyl ester were superior to levodopa treatment.展开更多
a-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors are considered to play a crucial role in synaptic plasticity in the developing visual cortex. In this study, we established a rat model of binocular form ...a-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors are considered to play a crucial role in synaptic plasticity in the developing visual cortex. In this study, we established a rat model of binocular form deprivation by suturing the rat binocular eyelids before eye-opening at postnatal day 14. During development, the decay time of excitatory postsynaptic currents mediated by a-amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors of normal rats became longer after eye- opening; however, the decay time did not change significantly in binocular form deprivation rats. The peak value in the normal group became gradually larger with age, but there was no significant change in the binocular form deprivation group. These findings indicate that binocular form deprivation influences the properties of excitatory postsynaptic currents mediated by a-amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors in the rat visual cortex around the end of the critical period, indicating that form stimulation is associated with the experience-dependent modification of neuronal synapses in the visual cortex.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81770956,81371049,32471055 and 82171090)Project of Tianjin 131 Innovative Talent Team(201936)+4 种基金the Science and Technology Planning Project of Tianjin(21JCYBJC00780)the Science and Technology Fund for Health of Tianjin(TJWJ2023ZD008)Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2018SHZDZX01)ZJLab,Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology,the Lingang Laboratory(LG-QS-202203-12)Tianjin Key Medical Discipline(Specialty)Construction Project(TJYXZDXK‑016A).
文摘The visual cortex is an essential part of the brain for processing visual information.It exhibits structural and functional plasticity,which is crucial for adapting to complex visual environments.The quintessential manifestation of visual cortical plasticity is ocular dominance plasticity during the critical period,which involves numerous cellular and molecular events.While previous studies have emphasized the role of visual cortical neurons and their associated functional molecules in visual plasticity,recent findings have revealed that structural factors such as the extracellular matrix and glia are also involved.Investigating how these molecules interact to form a complex network that facilitates plasticity in the visual cortex is crucial to our understanding of the development of the visual system and the advancement of therapeutic strategies for visual disorders like amblyopia.
基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,No.21609101the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program),No.2011CB707501
文摘Nitric oxide is an important neuromodulator in the brain and is involved in the development of visual system. But it is not clear how nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase （NOS） are involved in the developing visual cortex of rodents. Thus we examined the expression of NOS activity in the postnatal developing visual cortex of the golden hamster by using histochemical technique for NADPH-diaphorase （NADPH-d）. A heavily stained NADPH-d band was observed in the neuropil of the visual cortex. This NADPH-d band initially appeared in the cortical plate from the day of birth （P0） to postnatal day 4 （P4）. From P7 to P21, this band was confined to area 17 and migrated to the deeper layers Ill IV and V VI before it eventually disappeared at P28. Such developmental trends of the band correlated well with the process of formation and establishment of the geniculo-cortical projection patterns. Thus, the areal specific development of the band suggests that NOS is closely related to the cortical differentiation and synaptic formation of the primary visual cortex. On the other hand, monocular eye enucleation on P1 could not alter the appearance of this NADPH-d positive band, indicating a non-activity dependant role of NOS. In addition, differences in the laminar distributions and developmental sequence between the heavily and lightly stained NADPH-d positive neurons during development suggest that they play different roles in the development.
基金Supported by Chinese National Natural Science Found (grants Nos,39970252, 39770258, 30070254).
文摘Purpose: To study the property of LTP in layers Ⅱ～Ⅳof the rats visual cortex at different postnatal days induced by pairing low-frequency stimulation at layer Ⅳ with post synaptic depolarization in order to explore the synaptic and cellular mechanism of experience-dependent plasticity in the visual cortex.Methods: Postsynaptic currents (PSCs) of layers Ⅱ～Ⅳ in visual cortex slices of Wistar rats aged P0-29 d were recorded by patch-clamp whole cell recording method. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was induced by low-frequency stimulation (LFS) at 1Hz for 60～90 s.Each pulse of the LFS paired with depolarization of post-synaptic neurons to -20 mV.100μM APV, a kind of competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, was both applied to some slices to test the property of LTP.Results: 1. The LTP incidence was very low before P10d (5/34), and increased rapidly to the top at P15-24 d (17/28), then decreased sharply to 1/5 at P25-29 d, coinciding well with the critical period of plasticity of rat visual cortex. The LTP incidence of P15-29d (after eye opening, 18/33) was significantly higher than that of P0-14 d (before eye opening, 12/43, P ＜ 0.05). 2. Compared with non-APV applied group (30/76), LTP incidence of APV applied group (4/33) was significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.01 ). There were 4 Ⅳ-Ⅳ horizontal synapses. APV application could not block the LTP induction.Conclusions: 1. LTP was a reflection of naturally occurring, experience-dependent plasticity in rat visual cortex. The patterned visual stimuli received after eye opening might be an activation factor of the synaptic plasticity. 2. LTP of visual cortex induced by LFS in layer Ⅳ paired with postsynaptic depolarization was NMDA receptor dependent during the critical period of visual plasticity. However, there were LTP existed in Ⅳ-Ⅳ horizontal synapses which could not be blocked by 100μM APV.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30760285the Education Innovation Plan Program for Postgraduate in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, No. 2008105981007D27
文摘In the present study, a feline model of strabismic amblyopia was established during a sensitive developmental period, and the influence of levodopa methyl ester and levodopa on nerve growth factor expression in the visual cortex （area 17） was compared. Pattern visual-evoked potential and immunohistochemistry results showed that levodopa methyl ester and levodopa treatment shortened P10o wave latency, increased Pleo amplitude, and increased the number of endogenous nerve growth factor-positive cells in visual cortex levels. In particular, the effects of levodopa methyl ester were superior to levodopa treatment.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.30772350
文摘a-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors are considered to play a crucial role in synaptic plasticity in the developing visual cortex. In this study, we established a rat model of binocular form deprivation by suturing the rat binocular eyelids before eye-opening at postnatal day 14. During development, the decay time of excitatory postsynaptic currents mediated by a-amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors of normal rats became longer after eye- opening; however, the decay time did not change significantly in binocular form deprivation rats. The peak value in the normal group became gradually larger with age, but there was no significant change in the binocular form deprivation group. These findings indicate that binocular form deprivation influences the properties of excitatory postsynaptic currents mediated by a-amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors in the rat visual cortex around the end of the critical period, indicating that form stimulation is associated with the experience-dependent modification of neuronal synapses in the visual cortex.
