Restoration of the plasticity of binocular maps by NMDA after the critical period in Xenopus.
Visual input during a critical period of development plays a major role in the establishment of orderly connections in the developing visual system. In Xenopus laevis, the matching of visual maps from the two eyes to the optic tectum depends on binocular visual input during the critical period, which extends from late tadpole to early juvenile stages. Alterations in eye position, which produce a mismatch of the tectal maps, normally evoke a compensatory adjustment in the map of the ipsilateral eye only during the critical period. However, continuous application of the glutamate receptor agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) after the normal end of the critical period restores this ability to realign the visual map.
Udin
S B
SB
Department of Physiology, State University of New York, Buffalo 14214.
Scherer
W J
WJ
D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005971:Glutamates / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000187:drug effects*; D014794:Visual Fields; D014982:Xenopus laevis
D005971:Glutamates; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate