title: Experience-dependent maturation of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the cell receptive fields in the kitten visual cortex.
abstract: The development of contrast sensitivity to spatial and temporal frequencies was studied in the visual cortex of 6-week-old kittens reared from birth in three conditions: normal, dark-reared (DR) and dark-reared after 6 h of visual experience. Receptive fields of cells recorded in area 17 were quantitatively analysed using drifting sine-wave gratings. Compared to the low values obtained in the DR kittens, we observed after 6 h of visual experience: (1) an adult-like detection of higher spatial frequencies, (2) an increase of contrast sensitivity at low temporal frequencies; (3) a shift of the cell optimum towards 3 Hz, all values close to the normal ones. Unlike the spatial frequency selectivity, contrast sensitivity and detection of higher temporal frequencies continue to develop with age and visual experience.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Neurosciences, Neurosciences de la Vision, UPMC-CNRS, Paris, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gary-Bobo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Przybyslawski
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saillour
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology; D003624:Darkness; D008839:Microelectrodes; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*