Neural site of strabismic amblyopia in cats: X-cell acuities in the LGN

Summary The acuities of X-cells from the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) were measured in five cats raised with a convergent strabismus, surgically induced by tenotomy. The acuities of cells driven by the strabismic eye were not significantly different from the acuities of cells driven by the non-deviating eye over the range of eccentricities in the visual field studied (from the area centralis to over 20°). The data were also similar to X-cell acuities in the LGN of 3 normal cats. Lowered acuities of LGN X-cells driven by the deviating eye of an esotropic cat in which the strabismus was created by myectomy confirm a previous finding of a retinal locus of amblyopia associated with that preparation. In contrast, the results here implicate the visual cortex as the initial site of the deficit in spatial processing in amblyopia arising from tenotomy strabismus.     

Environmental enrichment in adulthood promotes amblyopia recovery through a reduction of intracortical inhibition

Loss of visual acuity caused by abnormal visual experience during development (amblyopia) is an untreatable pathology in adults. We report that environmental enrichment in adult amblyopic rats restored normal visual acuity and ocular dominance. These effects were due to reduced GABAergic inhibition in the visual cortex, accompanied by increased expression of BDNF and reduced density of extracellular-matrix perineuronal nets, and were prevented by enhancement of inhibition through benzodiazepine cortical infusion.     

Relationship of visual cortex function and visual acuity in anisometropic amblyopic children

Purpose: To detect the functional deficit of the visual cortex in anisometropic amblyopia children using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique, and investigate the relationship between visual acuity and visual cortex function.Methods: Blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI (BOLD-fMRI) was performed in ten monocular anisometropic amblyopia children and ten normal controls. fMRI images were acquired in two runs with visual stimulation delivered separately through the sound and amblyopic eyes. Measurements were performed in cortical activation of striate and extrastriate areas at the occipital lobe. The relationship between cortex function and visual acuity was analyzed by Pearson partial analysis.Results: The activation areas of both the striate and extrastriate cortices in the amblyopic eyes were significantly lower than that of the sound fellow eyes. No relationship was found between the striate and extrastriate cortex activation. No relationship was found between the visual cortical activation of striate, extrastriate areas and visual acuity of anisometropic amblyopes.Conclusions: BOLD-fMRI revealed the independent striate and extrastriate cortical deficits in anisometropic amblyopes. In addition, the visual acuity lesion and the striate and extrastriate cortical deficits were not parallel, and results of fMRI examination have much potential value in the evaluation of amblyopia.     

Undercounting features and missing features: evidence for a high-level deficit in strabismic amblyopia

Abnormal visual development in strabismic amblyopia drastically affects visual perception and properties of neurons in primary visual cortex (V1). To test the notion that amblyopia also has consequences for higher visual areas, we asked humans with amblyopia to count briefly presented features. Using the amblyopic eye, strabismic amblyopes counted inaccurately, markedly underestimating the number of features. This inaccuracy was not due to low-level considerations (blur, visibility, crowding, undersampling or topographical jitter), as they also underestimated the number of features missing from a uniform grid. Rather, counting deficits in strabismic amblyopes reflected a higher-level limitation in the number of features the amblyopic visual system can individuate.     

Topographical distribution of the summation property of Y-ganglion cells in the cat retina

Summary Experiments were carried out to determine the effects of different types of experimental strabismus on the acuities of retinal ganglion cells. Six kittens were raised from twenty-one days of age with an esotropia surgically induced by myectomy of the lateral rectus muscle and a large portion of the superior oblique muscle. The results are compared with those, previously reported, from five other cats also made esotropic, but by tenotomy of the lateral rectus. All animals tested behaviourally were amblyopic in the strabismic eye. For square wave gratings, the visual acuities were 1.0 to 2.5 cyc/deg through the strabismic eye compared with 6.0 to 7.5 cyc/deg through the non-deviating eye. The cut-off spatial frequencies were determined for 132 brisk sustained cells from five of the myectomized strabismic cats. There was a loss of approximately 20% in cut-off spatial frequency when compared with both normal and tenotomized cats. A correlate of the physiologically observed difference between the tenotomized cats and the myectomized cats was also found in the morphology of cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus. The tenotomized cats showed no evidence of cell shrinkage in laminae receiving a projection from the amblyopic eye whereas in the myectomized cats large differences were observed in cell cross-sectional areas between laminae receiving input from the amblyopic eye and those receiving input from the non-deviating eye. Together, these findings indicate that the presence of a neural deficit in the retina of strabismic cats is associated with the actual removal of extra-ocular muscle and probably has little to do with the optical quality of images arriving at the retina.Supported by a grant no 78/3589 to S.G.C. and grant no 81/0663 to D.P.C. from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia     

Processing deficits in primary visual cortex of amblyopic cats

Early esotropic squint frequently results in permanent visual deficits in one eye, referred to as strabismic amblyopia. The neurophysiological substrate corresponding to these deficits is still a matter of investigation. Electrophysiological evidence is available for disturbed neuronal interactions in both V1 and higher cortical areas. In this study, we investigated the modulation of responses in cat V1 to gratings at different orientations and spatial frequencies (SFs; 0.1-2.0 cycles/degrees) with optical imaging of intrinsic signals. Maps evoked by both eyes were well modulated at most spatial frequencies. The layout of the maps resembled that of normal cats, and iso-orientation domains tended to cross adjacent ocular dominance borders preferentially at right angles. Visually evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded at SFs ranging from 0.1 to 3.5 cycles/degrees and revealed a consistently weaker eye for the majority of squinting cats. At each SF, interocular differences in VEP amplitudes corresponded well with differences in orientation response and selectivity in the maps. At 0.7-1.3 cycles/ degrees, population orientation selectivity was significantly lower for the weaker eye in cats with VEP differences compared with those with no VEP amplitude differences. In addition, the cutoff SF, above which gratings no longer induced orientation maps, was lower for the weaker eye (> or =1.0 cycles/degrees). These data reveal a close correlation between the loss of visual acuity in amblyopia as assessed by VEPs and the modulation of neuronal activation as seen by optical imaging of intrinsic signals. Furthermore, the results indicate that amblyopia is associated with altered intracortical processing already in V1.     

Binocularity and spatial frequency dependence of calcarine activation in two types of amblyopia

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: Strabismus and anisometropia early in life frequently causes monocular amblyopia. Activation of the visual cortex is compared between the two types of amblyopia to elucidate differences in the pathogenetic mechanism of the disease. METHODS: Using an EPI gradient echo sequence in 1.5T MRI, calcarine activation by monocular viewing of checkerboard patterns with reversal was examined in terms of binocularity of the activation and dependence on the spatial frequency of the stimuli. RESULTS: First, the proportion of voxels activated by both normal and amblyopic eye monocular stimulations is lower in the strabismic group than in the anisometropic group. Second, the activation by higher-spatial-frequency stimuli is reduced in the anisometropic group, but not in the strabismic group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings from the human visual cortex are consistent with the view proposed based on animal research that the loss of binocular interaction and the undersampling of high-spatial-frequency components of visual stimuli are each one of the underlying changes in strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia, respectively.     

Contrast sensitivity function of sound eye after occlusion therapy in the amblyopic children

To verify the changes of mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity function of sound eye whose visual acuity was kept the same after occlusion therapy in the amblyopic children. Fourteen sound eyes of amblyopic children (mean; 7.67 years; S.D., 1.50 years) who kept their visual acuity the same after the occlusion therapy were tested. The children had 6 hours of part-time patch therapy for 3 months prior to this examination. Among 14 amblyopic children, 8 were anisometric and 6 were strabismic amblyopes. Using the visual capacity analyzer which measures the minimal contrast level at from low to high spatial frequencies, the contrast sensitivity of sound eye was measured, under both photopic and mesopic condition, before and after 3 months of occlusion therapy. Comparing the contrast sensitivity of sound eye after the occlusion therapy to that before the occlusion, there was no statistical difference in photopic condition. When it comes to mesopic condition, the contrast sensitivity decreased at the intermediate spatial frequency level (3-13 c.p.d, p=0.028) after the occlusion therapy. The occlusion caused statistically significant decrease in mesopic contrast sensitivity, when the visual acuity was not changed after the occlusion therapy. It may indicate that mesopic contrast sensitivity can be considered as a useful tool for early detection of hidden occlusion amblyopia.     

Mesopic contrast sensitivity functions in amblyopic children

This study both measured and compared the mesopic contrast sensitivity function and the visual acuity in both normal and amblyopic eyes from amblyopic children using an ACV (visual acuity analyzer). Twenty one amblyopic children (mean age, 8.48 years; S.D., 1.68 years), 11 strabismic amblyopes and 10 anisometropic amblyopes, were tested. Based on a display of the standard optotypes, the minimal contrast level, at which the optotypes were correctly read for all sizes of displays from a distance of 1m, was measured. The contrast ranged from 1% to 99% and the spatial frequencies ranged from 0.6 to- 30cpd using a Landolt ring composed of low (0.6- 2.9 c.p.d.), intermediate (3.0 - 12.9 c.p.d.) and high level (13.0- 30.0 c.p.d.) frequencies. As the visual acuity decreased, the mesopic contrast sensitivity function decreased along the contrast sensitivity axis. However, the peak sensitivity was noted at the same spatial frequencies. A comparison between the normal eye and the corresponding amblyopic eye showed that under mesopic conditions, the contrast sensitivity functions decreased more in the intermediate spatial frequencies than in the other spatial frequencies. The mesopic contrast sensitivity function decreased in the amblyopic eyes, which suggests the possibility of its use an adjunct to an evaluation of amblyopia.     

Retinotopic maps and foveal suppression in the visual cortex of amblyopic adults

Amblyopia is a developmental visual disorder associated with loss of monocular acuity and sensitivity as well as profound alterations in binocular integration. Abnormal connections in visual cortex are known to underlie this loss, but the extent to which these abnormalities are regionally or retinotopically specific has not been fully determined. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study compared the retinotopic maps in visual cortex produced by each individual eye in 19 adults (7 esotropic strabismics, 6 anisometropes and 6 controls). In our standard viewing condition, the non-tested eye viewed a dichoptic homogeneous mid-level grey stimulus, thereby permitting some degree of binocular interaction. Regions-of-interest analysis was performed for extrafoveal V1, extrafoveal V2 and the foveal representation at the occipital pole. In general, the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal was reduced for the amblyopic eye. At the occipital pole, population receptive fields were shifted to represent more parafoveal locations for the amblyopic eye, compared with the fellow eye, in some subjects. Interestingly, occluding the fellow eye caused an expanded foveal representation for the amblyopic eye in one early–onset strabismic subject with binocular suppression, indicating real-time cortical remapping. In addition, a few subjects actually showed increased activity in parietal and temporal cortex when viewing with the amblyopic eye. We conclude that, even in a heterogeneous population, abnormal early visual experience commonly leads to regionally specific cortical adaptations.     

Relationship between amblyopia,LGN cell ‘shrinkage’ and cortical ocular dominance in cats

Summary Six cats were reared with surgically produced squint or atropinisation of one eye during the sensitive period of development. Five cats were reared without any ocular interference but in the same environment as the experimental cats. Four of these normally reared cats provided control data for perikaryal size.When the cats were 5–8 months old, the ocular dominance distribution of cells in area 17 of the visual cortex was determined, and measurements of visual acuity of cells in the LGN receiving inputs from the area centralis were carried out. Following the neurophysiological experiments, the perikaryal sizes of LGN cells receiving fibres from the area centralis of the left and right eye were measured from Nissl stained sections of the brain of each cat.Cats which showed greater amblyopia (loss of acuity) of LGN cells driven from the area centralis of the experimental eye, showed a greater degree of apparent shrinkage of Nissl stained LGN cells and a greater proportion of cortical cells excited by the control eye than by the experimental eye.All experimental cats showed a loss of binocularly driven cells, regardless of whether their LGN cells were amblyopic or not, and whether they had shrunk or not. However, when LGN cell amblyopia was present, the degree of amblyopia and shrinkage of the LGN cells were correlated with the degree of loss of binocular cells also.Supported by grants from the MRC and St. Thomas' Hospital     

Is the retina sensitive to the effects of prolonged blur?

Summary Two preparations were used to study the developmental effects of prolonged blurring of retinal images on the acuities of retinal ganglion cells. Five kittens were raised from three weeks to six months of age with daily administration of atropine to one eye. Another two kittens were raised from three weeks to 16 weeks with a contact lens of high refractive power fitted to one eye. Behavioural estimates of the visual acuity were made for two animals from each group. Animals of both groups demonstrated an amblyopia in the experimental eye: visual acuity varied from 1.8 to 2.5 cycles per degree compared with 6.0 to 7.5 cycles per degree when using the normal eye. The spatial resolving properties were measured for retinal ganglion cells within the amblyopic eyes of two lens-reared cats and three atropinized cats. Brisk-sustained (X) cells were recorded from along the naso-temporal division. The acuities of ganglion cells from the lens-reared cats were indistinguishable from those from normal cats at comparable eccentricities. However, for the cats raised with atropine administration, sub-normal acuities were determined for retinal ganglion cells from all regions that were studied in the experimental eye. We conclude that blur of retinal images produced by external means has no effect on the resolving power of retinal ganglion cells. The lowered ganglion cell acuities encountered with the atropinised cats must be attributable to a secondary effect of the atropine administration. Organic changes in the retinal blood vessel pattern support this contention.Supported by a grant no. 78/3589 to S.G. C. and grant no. 81/0663 to D.P. C. from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia     

Reversal of the physiological effects of monocular deprivation in the kitten's visual cortex.

1. Twenty-three kittens were monocularly deprived of vision until the age of 4, 5, 6 or 7 weeks. Their deprived eyes were then opened, and their experienced eyes shut for a further 3-63 days. After this time physiological recordings were made in the visual cortex, area 17. Three control kittens, monocularly deprived for various periods, showed that at the time of reverse-suturing, few neurones could be influenced at all from the deprived eye. 2. Following reverse-suturing, the initially deprived eye regained control of cortical neurones. This switch of cortical ocular dominance was most rapid following reverse-suturing at the age of 4 weeks. Delaying the age of reverse-suturing reduced the rate and then the extent of the cortical ocular dominance changes. 3. The cortex of reverse-sutured kittens is divided into regions of cells dominated by one eye or the other. The relative sizes of these ocular dominance columns changed during reversed deprivation. The columns devoted to the initially deprived eye were very small in animals reverse-sutured for brief periods, but in animals that underwent longer periods of reversed deprivation, the columns driven by that eye were larger, while those devoted to the initially open eye were smaller. 4. Clear progressions of orientation columns across the cortex were apparent in many of the kittens, but, in contrast to the situation in normal or strabismic kittens, these sequences were disrupted at the borders of eye dominance columns: the cortical representations of orientation and ocular dominance were not independent. 5. Binocular units in these kittens were rather rare, but those that could be found often had dissimilar receptive field properties in the two eyes. Commonly, a cell would have a normal orientation selective receptive field in one eye, and an immature, unselective receptive field in the other. Cells that had orientation selective receptive fields in both eyes often had greatly differing orientation preferences in the two eyes, occasionally by nearly 90 degrees. 6. During the reversal of deprivation effects, the proportion of receptive fields exhibiting mature properties declined in the initially experienced eye, while the proportion increased in the initially deprived eye. Similarly, the average band width of orientation tuning of receptive fields in the initially deprived eye decreased, while that of receptive fields in the initially experienced eye increased. 7. One kitten was reverse-sutured twice, to demonstrate that cortical ocular dominance may be reversed a second time, even after one reversal of ocular dominance. 8. It is suggested that the sensitive period for cortical binocular development consists of two phases. In the first phase, all cortical neurones may be modified by experience, but the rate at which they may be modified decreases with age. In the second phase, an increasing number of cortical neurones becomes fixed in their properties, while those that remain modifiable are as modifiable as they were at the end of the first phase. 9...     

Reversal of the physiological effects of monocular deprivation in kittens: further evidence for a sensitive period

1. It was confirmed that suturing the lids of one eye (monocular deprivation), until only 5 weeks of age, leaves virtually every neurone in the kitten's visual cortex entirely dominated by the other eye. On the other hand, deprivation of both eyes causes no change in the normal ocular dominance of cortical neurones, most cells being clearly binocularly driven.2. Kittens were monocularly deprived until various ages, from 5 to 14 weeks, at which time reverse suturing was performed: the initially deprived right eye was opened and the left eye closed for a further 9 weeks before recording from the visual cortex.3. Reverse suturing at 5 weeks caused a complete switch in ocular dominance: every cell was dominated by the initially deprived right eye. Reverse suturing at 14 weeks, however, had almost no further effect on ocular dominance: most cells were still driven solely by the left eye. Animals reverse sutured at intermediate ages had cortical neurones strongly dominated by one eye or the other, and they were organized into clear columnar groups according to ocular dominance.4. Thus, between 5 weeks and 4 months of age, there is a period of declining sensitivity to both the effects of an initial period of monocular deprivation and the reversal of those effects by reverse suturing.5. The small proportion of binocular cells in reverse sutured kittens (which have never had simultaneous binocular vision) often differed considerably in their receptive field properties in the two eyes. In particular, if the cells were orientation selective in both eyes the two preferred orientations could differ by up to 70 degrees .6. The relative importance of innate and environmental contributions to the properties of cortical cells is discussed.     

Two-dimensional analysis of the spacing of ocular dominance columns in normally raised and strabismic kittens

In the primary visual cortex of cats, ferrets and macaque monkeys, the thalamocortical afferents conveying signals from the two eyes terminate in alternating regions of layer IV known as ocular dominance columns. Previous experiments have indicated that the periodicity of these columns can be influenced by visual experience: compared to normally raised animals both strabismic cats and cats raised with alternating monocular exposure displayed an increased spacing of adjacent ocular dominance columns in the primary visual cortex (area 17). However, recently it was shown that the formation of ocular dominance columns begins much earlier than previously supposed, indicating that early visual experience might only have a limited influence on the development of the spatial pattern of ocular dominance columns. We therefore visualized the complete pattern of ocular dominance columns in area 17 of normally raised and strabismic kittens during early postnatal development (age 3-6 weeks), particularly focussing on littermates. In addition, we used a previously developed spatial analysis (period statistics) to quantify columnar spacing two-dimensionally. We observed a pronounced interindividual variability in both normally raised and strabismic animals, with column spacings ranging from 783 to 1362 microm. In contrast to previous reports, there were no significant differences in columnar periodicity between normally raised and strabismic cats. These data indicate that rearing has less influence on column spacing while the interindividual variability is much greater than previously supposed, suggesting that genetic differences have an influence on column spacing.     

BOLD fMRI response of early visual areas to perceived contrast in human amblyopia

In this study, we used a temporal two-alternative forced choice psychophysical procedure to measure the observer's perception of a 22% physical contrast grating for each eye as a function of spatial frequency in four subjects with unilateral amblyopia and in six subjects with normal vision. Contrast thresholds were also measured using a standard staircase method. Additionally, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure the neuronal response within early visual cortical areas to monocular presentations of the same 22% physical contrast gratings as a function of spatial frequency. For all six subjects with normal vision and for three subjects with amblyopia, the psychophysically measured perception of 22% contrast as a function of spatial frequency was the same for both eyes. Threshold contrast, however, was elevated for the amblyopic eye for all subjects, as expected. The magnitude of the fMRI response to 22% physical contrast within "activated" voxels was the same for each eye as a function of spatial frequency, regardless of the presence of amblyopia. However, there were always fewer "activated" fMRI voxels during amblyopic stimulation than during normal eye stimulation. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that contrast thresholds are elevated in amblyopia because fewer neurons are responsive during amblyopic stimulation, and that the average firing rate of the responsive neurons, which reflects the perception of contrast, is unaffected in amblyopia.     

Exogenous supply of nerve growth factor prevents the effects of strabismus in the rat.

It has recently been reported that exogenous supply of nerve growth factor prevents the effects of monocular deprivation both in rats and in cats. Here we have extended these experiments to the case of strabismus. Repeated intraventricular injections of nerve growth factor were performed in rats made surgically strabismic early in the critical period. At the end of the critical period the ocular dominance distribution of visual cortical neurons was assessed in strabismic untreated, strabismic nerve growth factor-treated and strabismic Cytochrome C-treated (control) rats by means of extracellular recordings. We found that in rats surgical strabismus causes a consistent loss of binocular neurons. By contrast the treatment with nerve growth factor maintains the normal ocular dominance distribution of neurons in the primary visual cortex. We conclude that nerve growth factor exogenously supplied prevents the effects induced by surgical strabismus in rats and suggest that nerve growth factor has a role in visual cortical plasticity.     

Monocular cells without ocular dominance columns

In many regions of the mammalian cerebral cortex, cells that share a common receptive field property are grouped into columns. Despite intensive study, the function of the cortical column remains unknown. In the squirrel monkey, the expression of ocular dominance columns is variable, with columns present in some animals and not in others. By searching for differences between animals with and without columns, it should be possible to infer how columns contribute to visual processing. Single-cell recordings outside layer 4C were made in nine squirrel monkeys, followed by labeling of ocular dominance columns in layer 4C. In the squirrel monkey, compared with the macaque, cells outside layer 4C were more likely to respond to stimulation of either eye whether ocular dominance columns were present or not. In three animals lacking ocular dominance columns, single cells were recorded from layer 4C. Remarkably, 20% of cells in layer 4C were monocular despite the absence of columns. This observation means that ocular dominance columns are not necessary for monocular cells to occur in striate cortex. In macaques each row of cytochrome oxidase (CO) patches is aligned with an ocular dominance column and receives koniocellular input serving one eye only. In squirrel monkeys this was not true: CO patches and ocular dominance columns had no spatial correlation and the koniocellular input to CO patches was binocular. Thus even when ocular dominance columns occur in the squirrel monkey, they do not transform the functional architecture to resemble that of the macaque.     

Effects of early monocular deprivation on response properties and afferents of nucleus of the optic tract in the ferret

Summary Effects of early monocular deprivation on visual response properties of neurons in the nucleus of the optic tract (NOT) were studied in six adult ferrets. Retinal input to NOT was investigated by orthodromic electrical stimulation of optic chiasm and optic nerves. Electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral primary visual cortex was applied to reveal the presence of a cortical pathway to NOT. All 75 neurons studied in the NOT displayed the typical strongly direction-specific response to horizontal stimulus motion; they were activated by ipsiversively directed motion (i.e. motion towards the recorded hemisphere) similar to NOT-cells in animals with normal visual experience. When tested binocularly most of the NOT-cells preferred velocities of 10 or 20 deg/s, revealing no significant difference from animals reared with normal binocular experience. The most pronounced effect of monocular deprivation was observed on ocular dominance: In the hemisphere contralateral to the non-deprived eye, NOT-cells were almost exclusively driven through the contralateral eye. In the hemisphere contralateral to the deprived eye, three of the six animals studied showed a marked dominance of the ipsilateral, non-deprived eye. In the other three animals, most neurons were binocularly activated, but over all they were significantly more strongly activated by the ipsilateral eye than found in normal animals. In four animals, dependence of ocular dominance on stimulus velocity was tested in the NOT contralateral to the deprived eye. In one of them, neurons were almost exclusively driven by the ipsilateral, non-deprived eye, irrespective of stimulus velocity. In the other animals, ocular dominance shifted from contralateral to ipsilateral with increasing stimulus velocities. Electrical stimulation of the optic chiasm revealed a mean latency of 5.53 ± 0.48 ms. In both hemispheres, NOT-units could only be activated by stimulation of the contralateral optic nerve. Thus, no significant difference in the retinofugal conduction velocities from the deprived and the normal nerve could be detected. Of 52 cells studied, 28 (= 54%) could be activated by stimulation of primary visual cortex, mean latency being 3.9± 1.7 ms. No significant difference in the percentage of cortically excitable cells between the two hemispheres as well as compared to normal animals was found (contralateral to the deprived eye: 67%, contralateral to the non-deprived eye: 53%). Therefore, cortical projections to NOT seem not to be affected by monocular deprivation. The effects of monocular deprivation in the ferret NOT, especially on ocular dominance and cortical input, are compared to the results previously described for the cat.     

Role of visual experience in activating critical period in cat visual cortex

Cats were reared in total darkness from birth until 4-5 mo of age (DR cats, n = 7) or with very brief visual experience (1 or 2 days) during an otherwise similar period of dark rearing [DR(1) cats, n = 3; DR(2) cats, n = 7]. Single-cell recordings were made in area 17 of visual cortex at the end of this rearing period and/or after a subsequent prolonged period of monocular deprivation. Control observations were made in normal cats (n = 3), cats reared with monocular deprivation from birth (n = 4), and cats monocularly deprived after being reared normally until 4 mo of age (n = 2). After rearing cats in total darkness, the majority of visual cortical cells were binocularly driven and the overall distribution of ocular dominance was not different from that of normal cats. Orientation-selective cells were very rare in dark-reared cats. Monocular deprivation imposed after dark rearing resulted in selective development of connections from the open eye. Most cells were responsive only to the open eye and the majority of these were orientation selective. These results were similar to, though less severe than, those found in cats reared with monocular deprivation from birth. Monocular deprivation imposed after 4 mo of normal rearing did not produce selective development of connections from the open eye in terms of either ocular dominance or orientation selectivity. In DR(1) cats visual cortical physiology was degraded in comparison to dark-reared cats after the rearing period. Most cells were binocularly driven but there was a higher frequency of unresponsive cells and a reduced frequency of orientation-selective cells. Subsequent monocular deprivation resulted in a further decrease in the number of binocularly driven cells and an increase in unresponsive cells. However, it did not produce a bias in favor of the open eye in terms of either ocular dominance or orientation selectivity. In DR(2) cats there was a high incidence of unresponsive cells and a marked loss of binocularly driven cells after the rearing period. Subsequent monocular deprivation failed to produce any significant changes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)