# Development and plasticity of the visual system

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $391,634

## Abstract

Project Summary
This proposal stems from discoveries made during the last project period, the goal of which was to understand
the high-gain state of the primary visual cortex (V1) that was turned on during locomotion in mice. During the
current project period we discovered, among other things, that the high-gain state of the visual cortex is
mediated by the action of local vasoactive intestinal peptide positive (VIP) interneurons. This circuit gates
rapid plasticity in visual cortical responses that is stimulus-specific, cell-specific, and persistent at least for
weeks in adult mice. The major hypothesis to be tested in the current proposal is that this form of stimulus-
specific plasticity in primary visual cortex is a substrate of visual perceptual learning. The present proposal
seeks first to elucidate the properties of this form of adult plasticity that are relevant to perceptual learning,
specifically its specificity for stimulus configuration and retinal locus. Second, it seeks to understand the
cellular signaling mechanisms responsible for this plasticity and to determine whether its persistence is due of
rewiring of excitatory and inhibitory connectionsa in the visual cortex. Finally, it seeks to measure the
specificity of visual perceptual learning in mice behaviorally and to determine whether the VIP-cell circuit that
enhances responses and neural plasticity is a substrate of visual perceptual learning. The findings from this
study may guide approaches to therapy for amblyopia and dyslexia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10401829
- **Project number:** 5R01EY002874-37
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL P STRYKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $391,634
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1978-12-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10401829

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10401829, Development and plasticity of the visual system (5R01EY002874-37). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10401829. Licensed CC0.

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