Cortical feedback modulates distinct critical period development in mouse visual thalamus

Abstract

In primary visual cortex (V1), critical period for ocular dominance (OD) plasticity is a well-defined developmental stage to shape neuronal circuits based on visual experience. Recent studies showed that V1-like OD plasticity existed in mouse dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). It is still unclear what the exact time window is and how neural circuits contribute to OD plasticity in dLGN. Using invivo electrophysiology, we defined a critical period for OD plasticity in dLGN from eye opening to puberty. There also existed an innate process of OD formation from contralateral to equal bias in dLGN binocular neurons. Instant V1 inactivation with muscimol had no effect on OD bias or plasticity. Short-term V1 inactivation with N-methyl-d-aspartate reversed the formation of equal OD bias, while long-term V1 inactivation retained dLGN development to an immature stage.