Effects of luminance and flicker on ocular dominance shift in kitten visual cortex

We raised monocularly deprived kittens in visual environments with low level illumination that was either steady or flickering. With steady scotopic luminance ocular dominance shifted as it does in normal photopic lighting. In flickering light with an average frequency of 2 Hz there was virtually no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental brain research 1984-01, Vol.54 (1), p.186-190
Main Authors: DANIELS, J. D, PRESSMAN, E, SCHWARTZ, M, NELSON, S. B, KRAUS, D. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cats
Dominance, Cerebral - physiology
Evoked Potentials, Visual
Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision
Female
Flicker Fusion - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Male
Neuronal Plasticity
Retina - physiology
Sensory Deprivation - physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Visual Cortex - physiology
Visual Pathways - physiology
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Summary:We raised monocularly deprived kittens in visual environments with low level illumination that was either steady or flickering. With steady scotopic luminance ocular dominance shifted as it does in normal photopic lighting. In flickering light with an average frequency of 2 Hz there was virtually no ocular dominance shift, while in flickering light averaging 0.1 Hz there was a significant shift. Recordings from the 2 Hz flicker-reared were similar to the dark-reared recordings. The flickering illumination was produced in one case by a high contrast-low brightness TV near the cage, and in another case, by a low voltage incandescent bulb driven by a pseudo-random sequence generator. This circuit delivered either a maximum ON time of 1.7 s or a maximum of 40 s, for the 2 Hz and 0.1 Hz respectively. Both the TV and flickering bulb produced average illumination comparable to the dim (0.01 cd/m2) steady scotopic illumination. We conclude that dim flickering light is not a sufficient stimulus for promoting ocular dominance shift in kittens in the critical period unless the flicker rate approaches 0.1 Hz. Furthermore results from the TV rearing suggest that flicker may be capable of preventing an ocular dominance shift expected from a concurrent steady low light level background.
ISSN:0014-4819
1432-1106
DOI:10.1007/BF00235830