Is ocular dominance plasticity a special case of contrast adaptation?

Abstract

The visual system can regulate its sensitivity depending on the prevailing contrast conditions. This is known as contrast adaptation and reflects contrast gain changes at different stages along the visual pathway. Recently, it has been shown that depriving an eye of visual stimulation for a short period of time can lead to neuroplastic changes in ocular dominance as the result of homeostatic changes in contrast gain. Here we examine, on the basis of previously published results, whether the neuroplastic ocular dominance changes are just manifestation of the mechanism responsible for contrast adaptation. The evidence suggests that these two visual processes are separate and do not have a common neural substrate.