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Abstract #0413

Mapping the time course of cortical reorganization and the influence of visual experience during plasticity.

Joana Carvalho1, Francisca Fernandes2, and Noam Shemesh3
1Preclinical MRI Laboratory, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal, 2Preclinical MRI Laroratory, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal, 3Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal

Synopsis

During development, the organization of the brain’s underlying circuitry is shaped by sensory experience. However, how the adult brain reorganizes remains much less understood. Here, we performed a longitudinal BOLD-fMRI study assessing plasticity in the adult rat brain using a chronic visual deprivation model and a novel set-up for mapping detailed visual responses. We show that dark rearing (DR) boosts neural responses to visual stimuli but delays retinotopic and spatial frequency (SF) specialization in the visual pathway. Our findings suggest that DR shifts the stability/plasticity balance and that fMRI can map dynamic processes in the visual system.

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