# Critical Period Plasticity and Binocular Matching in the Visual Cortex

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2021 · $391,637

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Optimal functioning of the nervous system requires selective wiring of neural circuits, the precision of
which is achieved through experience-dependent refinement after birth. A classic model system of experience-
dependent neural development is ocular dominance plasticity in the visual system, where monocular visual
deprivation in a critical period of early life alters cortical responses. The investigators have recently discovered
that normal binocular vision in the critical period drives the matching of orientation preference between the two
eyes in the visual cortex, thus revealing a physiological purpose for critical period plasticity in normal
development. The proposed experiments aim to study cortical and thalamic mechanisms that underlie the
binocular matching process. In aim one, two-photon calcium imaging will be performed chronically to reveal how
individual cortical cells change their monocular orientation tunings to match between the two eyes. In addition,
two-photon imaging and electrophysiological recording will be used to characterize the binocular response
properties of subtypes of inhibitory neurons before, during, and after the critical period. In aim two,
electrophysiological recordings will be conducted to determine whether there are more binocular neurons in the
dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of young mice than in adults, and whether these binocular dLGN
neurons show significant matching in their orientation preference before V1. Additional experiments will be
performed to determine whether the early matching in the dLGN is experience-dependent by recording from
mice reared in complete darkness from birth. Finally, by combining cortical silencing and in vivo whole cell
recording, the investigators will examine whether the binocular responses of dLGN input determine the binocular
tuning of individual V1 neurons. Together, these experiments will reveal a novel link between the developmental
plasticity at two successive stages of visual processing, and determine the role of visual thalamus in guiding
binocular development in V1. Because ocular dominance plasticity and its critical period is a model for amblyopia
and strabismus, a full understanding of cortical and subcortical changes that normally take place during
development will have profound implications for the understanding and treatment of these diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10098321
- **Project number:** 5R01EY020950-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jianhua Cang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $391,637
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-09-30 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10098321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10098321, Critical Period Plasticity and Binocular Matching in the Visual Cortex (5R01EY020950-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10098321. Licensed CC0.

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