Friday, September 22, 2023
9/22/2023
Amblyopia is widespread form of human visual disability caused by a disparity in visual quality between the two eyes during early postnatal life. This disparity drives ocular dominance plasticity in the visual cortex to favor the stronger eye at the expense of the weaker (amblyopic) eye. Consequently, synapses in the visual cortex downstream of the amblyopic eye are weakened, a process that is difficult to reverse unless treatment is initiated during infancy or early childhood. Recent work in animal models has suggested several strategies for promoting recovery from amblyopia. While the pathophysiology underlying amblyopia has been well studied, the synaptic, cellular, and circuit changes underlying recovery are less clear. This proposal focuses on a treatment strategy that rapidly promotes visual recovery following experimental amblyopia via temporary inactivation of the retinas. A temporary period of retinal inactivation leads of a stable enhancement of visual cortical responses once vision is restored. The previous mentored research focused on understanding how retinal inactivation promotes recovery at through synaptic and cellular plasticity in the primary visual cortex. The current proposal shifts the focus to how recovery manifests in the statistics of neural activity within visual circuits, and whether this recovery can be controlled through reproducing these activity regimes. The long- term objective of this research is to understand how cortical plasticity is engaged to promote recovery and to inform clinical interventions for treating human amblyopia.
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