Rat Visual System Research Articles

The unique properties of Big tau in the visual system.

Tau is a microtubule associated protein that plays important roles in regulating the properties of microtubules and axonal transport, as well as tauopathies associated with toxic aggregates leading to neurodegenerative diseases. It is encoded by the MAPT gene forming multiple isoforms (45-60 kDa) by alternative splicing which are developmentally regulated. The high molecular weight (MW) tau isoform of 105 kDa, termed Big tau, was originally discovered in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) but later found in selective CNS areas. It contains an additional large exon 4a generating a long projecting domain of about 250 amino acids. Here we investigated the properties of Big tau in the visual system of rats, its distribution in retinal ganglion cells and the optic nerve as well as its developmental regulation using biochemical, molecular and histological analyses. We discovered that Big tau is expresses as a 95 kDa protein (termed middle MW) containing exons 4a, 6 as well as exon 10 which defines a 4 microtubule-binding repeats (4R). It lacks exons 2/3 but shares the extensive phosphorylation characteristic of other tau isoforms. Importantly, early in development the visual system expresses only the low MW isoform (3R) switching to both the low and middle MW isoforms (4R) in adult retinal ganglion neurons and their corresponding axons. This is a unique structure and expression pattern of Big tau, which we hypothesize is associated with the specific properties of the visual system different from what has been previously described in the PNS and other areas of the nervous system.

Differentiation and functional connectivity of fetal tectal transplants.

Data from studies analyzing the differentiation and functional connectivity of embryonic neural tissue grafted into the mammalian nervous system has led to the clinical testing of the fetal graft approach in patients with neurodegenerative disease. While some success has been achieved, ethical concerns have led to a search for alternative therapeutic strategies, mostly exploring the use of neural precursors or neurons derived from pluripotent stem cells to replace damaged host neurons and restore lost circuitries. These more recent studies address questions of graft viability, differentiation, and connectivity similar to those posed by researchers in earlier fetal transplant work, thus reviews of the fetal graft literature may inform and help guide ongoing research in the stem cell/organoid field. This brief review describes some key observations from research into the transplantation of neural tissue into the rat visual system, focusing on grafts of the fetal superior colliculus (tectal grafts) into neonatal or adult hosts. In neonate hosts, grafts quickly develop connections with the underlying host midbrain and attain a morphology typical of mature grafts by about 2 weeks. Grafts consistently contain numerous localized regions which, based on neurofibrillar staining, neuronal morphology (Golgi), neurochemistry, receptor expression, and glial architecture, are homologous to the stratum griseum superficiale of normal superior colliculus. These localized "patches" are also seen after explant culture and when donor tectal tissue is dissociated and reaggregated prior to transplantation. In almost all circumstances, host retinal innervation is restricted to these localized patches, but only those that are located adjacent to the graft surface. Synapses are formed and there is evidence of functional drive. The only exception occurs when Schwann cells are added to dissociated tecta prior to reaggregation. In these co-grafts, the peripheral glia appear to compete with local target factors and host retinal ingrowth is more widespread. Other afferent systems (e.g., host cortex, serotonin) show different patterns of innervation. The host cortical input originates more from extrastriate regions and establishes functional excitatory synapses with grafted neurons. Finally, when grafted into optic tract lesions in adult rat hosts, spontaneously regrowing host retinal axons retain the capacity to selectively innervate the localized patches in embryonic tectal grafts, showing that the specific affinities between adult retinal axons and their targets are not lost during regeneration. While the research described here provides some pertinent information about development and plasticity in visual pathways, a more general aim is to highlight how the review of the extensive fetal graft literature may aid in an appreciation of the positive (and negative) factors that influence survival, differentiation, connectivity and functionality of engineered cells and organoids transplanted into the central nervous system.

Brain organoids restore cortical damage.

Cortical damage is irreparable and poses a challenge to regenerative medicine. Whether brain organoids can compensate for injured brain regions remains unclear. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Jgamadze etal. report that human forebrain organoids transplanted into the rat visual system show long-term structural connectivity and the restoration of visual function following lesions.

Structural and functional integration of human forebrain organoids with the injured adult rat visual system.

Brain organoids created from human pluripotent stem cells represent a promising approach for brain repair. They acquire many structural features of the brain and raise the possibility of patient-matched repair. Whether these entities can integrate with host brain networks in the context of the injured adult mammalian brain is not well established. Here, we provide structural and functional evidence that human brain organoids successfully integrate with the adult rat visual system after transplantation into large injury cavities in the visual cortex. Virus-based trans-synaptic tracing reveals a polysynaptic pathway between organoid neurons and the host retina and reciprocal connectivity between the graft and other regions of the visual system. Visual stimulation of host animals elicits responses in organoid neurons, including orientation selectivity. These results demonstrate the ability of human brain organoids to adopt sophisticated function after insertion into large injury cavities, suggesting a translational strategy to restore function after cortical damage.

Assessment of the cellular integrity and expression of melatonin receptor (MTNR1A) in the retina assaulted by ethanol and acetaminophen.

Ethanol exposures have been reported to disrupt the development of the retina and optic nerve which can be considered as part of underlying mechanisms of visual pathway impairments. This study aims to investigate the cellular integrity of the retina and the expression of melatonin receptor (MTNR1A) in the retina when assaulted chronically and simultaneously by ethanol and acetaminophen. Animals were randomly grouped into five groups. Control (normal saline), Alcohol group (25% alcohol in 2% sucrose solution), Acetaminophen group, (100mg/kg BW for 14days), Acetaminophen + Alcohol group (25% alcohol in 2% sucrose solution + 100mg/kg BW of paracetamol). Withdrawal group (25% alcohol in 2% sucrose solution + 100mg/kg BW of paracetamol). The body weight and rectal temperature of the animals were taking every 2days and a post mortem study was conducted by quantitatively assessing the markers of oxidative stress. Melatonin level was quantified in the retina tissue and Immunohistochemistry was done via MTNR1A to study the expression of melatonin receptor type 1A in the retina. These results demonstrate that alcohol and acetaminophen significantly reduced the activity of retina rat melatonin (MTNR1A) levels, lowers the SOD and MDA activity. Expression of MTNR1A was reduced in the ganglionic cell layer of Alcohol and acetaminophen group as compared to the control and withdrawal group. It can be inferred that chronic simultaneous intake/consumption of alcohol and acetaminophen altered the melatonin level in the retina and this may implicate the circadian clock and melatonin in Wistar rat visual system.

Chronic nutritional restriction of omega-3 fatty acids induces a pro-inflammatory profile during the development of the rat visual system

Modern western diets have been associated with a reduced proportion of dietary omega-3 fatty acids leading to decreased levels of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in the brain. Low DHA content has been associated with altered development of visual acuity in infants and also with an altered time course of synapse elimination and plasticity in subcortical visual nuclei in rodents. Microglia has an active role in normal developmental processes such as circuitry refinement and plasticity, and its activation status can be modulated by omega-3 (ω3) and omega-6 (ω6) essential fatty acids. In the present study, we investigated the impact of dietary restriction of DHA (ω3−), through the chronic administration of a coconut-based diet as the only fat source. This dietary protocol resulted in a reduction in DHA content in the retina and superior colliculus (SC) and in a neuroinflammatory outcome during the development of the rodent visual system. The ω3− group showed changes in microglial morphology in the retina and SC and a corresponding altered pattern of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Early and late fish oil protocols supplementation were able to restore DHA levels. The early supplementation also decreased neuroinflammatory markers in the visual system. The present study indicates that a chronic dietary restriction of omega-3 fatty acids and the resulting deficits in DHA content, commonly observed in Western diets, interferes with the microglial profile leading to an inflamed microenvironment which may underlie a disruption of synapse elimination, altered topographical organization, abnormal plasticity, and duration of critical periods during brain development.

Core Concept: Perineuronal nets gain prominence for their role in learning, memory, and plasticity.

In the field of brain research, neurons have long held the center of attention. But in recent years, some researchers are starting to expand their focus beyond neurons to a long-overlooked structure called the perineuronal net. Lattice-like elements called perineuronal nets wrap around certain neurons, sharing components with cartilage. Researchers constructed this image of perineuronal nets in the mouse visual cortex using a super-resolution microscope and a fluorescent marker that labels certain sugar-rich molecules. Image courtesy of Yaron Sigal, Xiaowei Zhuang, and Takao Hensch (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA). Discovered in the late 1800s, this lattice-like element wraps around certain neurons and shares some components with cartilage. But far from providing mere structural support, growing evidence suggests that perineuronal nets, which are highly organized aggregates of proteins and sugar chains, help regulate the brain’s ability to make new connections and tweak existing ones. Researchers are now eager to understand how these nets may contribute to healthy brain function, as well as disease. This modern revival stems from a chance meeting between two neuroscientists about 2 decades ago. While studying spinal cord injury in rats, James Fawcett at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom tested an enzyme that he hoped would help regrow severed nerves. It did, to a limited extent, but more notably, it appeared to encourage rapid rewiring and compensatory activity by spared nerves. Tommaso Pizzorusso, then at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa in Italy, was intrigued by the finding. The two scientists decided to combine the treatment with studies of the developing rat visual system conducted by Pizzorusso’s group (1). The enzyme, it turns out, was degrading perineuronal nets. When the researchers applied it to the visual cortex of adult rats, they found that neural circuits returned to a younger, more malleable or “plastic” state. …

Long Term Temporal Changes in Structure and Function of Rat Visual System After Blast Exposure.

We identify long-term ocular sequelae subsequent to experimental blast exposure. Male Long-Evans rats were exposed to 230 kPa side-on primary blast overpressure using a compressed air driven shock tube. Visual system function and structure were assessed for 8 weeks after exposure using optokinetic nystagmus and optical coherence tomography. Vitreous protein expression and histology (TUNEL, H&E) were performed at 1 day and 1, 4, and 8 weeks. IOP was recorded bilaterally during blast in a subset of animals. Blast pressure profiles resembled the Friedlander waveform indicative of an open field blast. Peak IOP in directly-exposed eyes (240 kPa) was similar to peak blast overpressure, but IOP in indirectly-exposed eyes was 30% lower. Contrast sensitivity of blast-exposed animals decreased significantly by 20% 1 day after blast and did not recover by 8 weeks. Significant swelling and structural damage to the corneal epithelial and stromal layers were observed 2 weeks after blast exposure. Swollen corneas increased 254 ± 143 μm from baseline by 6 weeks, and scarring developed by 8 weeks. Histology revealed additional lens pathology 1 week after blast, suggestive of cataract development. Endothelial cell density increased significantly in blast-exposed animals between 1 and 4 weeks. Neurofilament heavy chain significantly increased after blast and returned to near baseline values by 8 weeks. Inflammatory cytokine changes corroborated ocular pathology findings. These data demonstrate immediate visual dysfunction and biochemical responses, but delayed structural pathology, in response to single primary blast exposure. The delayed pathology time course may provide a window to implement treatment strategies for improved visual outcome.

The fine tuning of retinocollicular topography depends on reelin signaling during early postnatal development of the rat visual system

During postnatal development, neural circuits are extremely dynamic and develop precise connection patterns that emerge as a result of the elimination of synaptic terminals, a process instructed by molecular cues and patterns of electrical activity. In the rodent visual system, this process begins during the first postnatal week and proceeds during the second and third postnatal weeks as spontaneous retinal activity and finally use-dependent fine tuning takes place. Reelin is a large extracellular matrix glycoprotein able to affect several steps of brain development, from neuronal migration to the maturation of dendritic spines and use-dependent synaptic development. In the present study, we investigated the role of reelin on the topographical refinement of primary sensory connections studying the development of retinal ganglion cell axon terminals in the rat superior colliculus. We found that reelin levels in the visual layers of the superior colliculus are the highest between the second and third postnatal weeks. Blocking reelin signaling with a neutralizing antibody (CR-50) from PND 7 to PND 14 induced a non-specific sprouting of ipsilateral retinocollicular axons outside their typical distribution of discrete patches of axon terminals. Also we found that reelin blockade resulted in reduced levels of phospho-GAP43, increased GluN1 and GluN2B-NMDA subunits and decreased levels of GAD65 content in the visual layers of the superior colliculus. The results suggest that reelin signaling is associated with the maturation of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic machinery influencing the development and fine tuning of topographically organized neural circuits during postnatal development.

Linear and Non-Linear Visual Feature Learning in Rat and Humans.

The visual system processes visual input in a hierarchical manner in order to extract relevant features that can be used in tasks such as invariant object recognition. Although typically investigated in primates, recent work has shown that rats can be trained in a variety of visual object and shape recognition tasks. These studies did not pinpoint the complexity of the features used by these animals. Many tasks might be solved by using a combination of relatively simple features which tend to be correlated. Alternatively, rats might extract complex features or feature combinations which are nonlinear with respect to those simple features. In the present study, we address this question by starting from a small stimulus set for which one stimulus-response mapping involves a simple linear feature to solve the task while another mapping needs a well-defined nonlinear combination of simpler features related to shape symmetry. We verified computationally that the nonlinear task cannot be trivially solved by a simple V1-model. We show how rats are able to solve the linear feature task but are unable to acquire the nonlinear feature. In contrast, humans are able to use the nonlinear feature and are even faster in uncovering this solution as compared to the linear feature. The implications for the computational capabilities of the rat visual system are discussed.

Different cortical projections from three subdivisions of the rat lateral posterior thalamic nucleus: a single-neuron tracing study with viral vectors.

The lateral posterior thalamic nucleus (LP) is one of the components of the extrageniculate pathway in the rat visual system, and is cytoarchitecturally divided into three subdivisions--lateral (LPl), rostromedial (LPrm), and caudomedial (LPcm) portions. To clarify the differences in the dendritic fields and axonal arborisations among the three subdivisions, we applied a single-neuron labeling technique with viral vectors to LP neurons. The proximal dendrites of LPl neurons were more numerous than those of LPrm and LPcm neurons, and LPrm neurons tended to have wider dendritic fields than LPl neurons. We then analysed the axonal arborisations of LP neurons by reconstructing the axon fibers in the cortex. The LPl, LPrm and LPcm were different from one another in terms of the projection targets--the main target cortical regions of LPl and LPrm neurons were the secondary and primary visual areas, whereas those of LPcm neurons were the postrhinal and temporal association areas. Furthermore, the principal target cortical layers of LPl neurons in the visual areas were middle layers, but that of LPrm neurons was layer 1. This indicates that LPl and LPrm neurons can be categorised into the core and matrix types of thalamic neurons, respectively, in the visual areas. In addition, LPl neurons formed multiple axonal clusters within the visual areas, whereas the fibers of LPrm neurons were widely and diffusely distributed. It is therefore presumed that these two types of neurons play different roles in visual information processing by dual thalamocortical innervation of the visual areas.

Object similarity affects the perceptual strategy underlying invariant visual object recognition in rats.

In recent years, a number of studies have explored the possible use of rats as models of high-level visual functions. One central question at the root of such an investigation is to understand whether rat object vision relies on the processing of visual shape features or, rather, on lower-order image properties (e.g., overall brightness). In a recent study, we have shown that rats are capable of extracting multiple features of an object that are diagnostic of its identity, at least when those features are, structure-wise, distinct enough to be parsed by the rat visual system. In the present study, we have assessed the impact of object structure on rat perceptual strategy. We trained rats to discriminate between two structurally similar objects, and compared their recognition strategies with those reported in our previous study. We found that, under conditions of lower stimulus discriminability, rat visual discrimination strategy becomes more view-dependent and subject-dependent. Rats were still able to recognize the target objects, in a way that was largely tolerant (i.e., invariant) to object transformation; however, the larger structural and pixel-wise similarity affected the way objects were processed. Compared to the findings of our previous study, the patterns of diagnostic features were: (i) smaller and more scattered; (ii) only partially preserved across object views; and (iii) only partially reproducible across rats. On the other hand, rats were still found to adopt a multi-featural processing strategy and to make use of part of the optimal discriminatory information afforded by the two objects. Our findings suggest that, as in humans, rat invariant recognition can flexibly rely on either view-invariant representations of distinctive object features or view-specific object representations, acquired through learning.

Effect of acute and chronic bilateral visual deafferentation on c-Fos immunoreactivity in the visual system of adult rats

In our study we examined acute and chronic changes in c-Fos expression patterns in the visual system of the rat after complete visual deafferentation. In 20 male Lewis rats, the retro-bulbar part of the optic nerve was sectioned bilaterally. Ten animals underwent c-Fos immunohistochemistry after 3 days and 10 animals after 3 weeks examining time-dependent changes. The control group consisted of 10 animals, which did not undergo any surgical manipulation. c-Fos expression in the rat visual system experienced significant changes after acute and chronic bilateral complete visual deafferentation. Acute decrease in c-Fos level was observed in the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, intergeniculate leaflet, superficial gray layer of the superior colliculus and layers IV and V of the primary visual cortex. After chronic deafferentation, c-Fos expression was also found to be decreased in the optic and deep layers of the superior colliculus and layer VI of the primary visual cortex. No change in c-Fos expression was observed in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and layers I, II and III of the primary visual cortex. This work shows that secondary complete blindness does not lead to uniform decrease in c-Fos levels in all subcortical and cortical brain regions related to vision. These findings provide important information concerning expression of the immediate-early gene product c-Fos in secondary blind rodent models. It may further serve as a relevant baseline finding when electrical stimulation of the visual system is performed, aiding the assessment of visual neuroprosthesis using c-Fos as a functional mapping tool when evaluating different stimulus parameters in blind rodent models.

Increased physical activity is not enough to recover astrocytic population from dark-rearing. Synergy with multisensory enrichment is required

Elimination of sensory inputs (deprivation) modifies the properties of the sensory cortex and serves as a model for studying plasticity during postnatal development. Many studies on the effects of deprivation have been performed in the visual cortex using dark-rearing as a visual deprivation model. It induces changes in all cellular and molecular components, including astrocytes, which play an important role in the development, maintenance, and plasticity of the cortex, mediated by cytokines which have been termed angioglioneurins. When one sense is deprived, a compensatory mechanism called cross-modal plasticity increases performance in the remaining senses. Environmental enrichment is so far the best-known method to compensate sensorial deprivation. The aim of this work is to study the effects of exercise alone, and of an enriched environment combined with exercise, on astroglial population in order to observe the effects of exercise by itself, or the potential synergistic effect during the rat visual system development. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were raised in one of the following rearing conditions: in total darkness and enriched environment conditions with physical exercise, and in total darkness with voluntary physical exercise. Astrocytic density was estimated by immunohistochemistry for S-100β protein and quantifications were performed in layer IV. The somatosensorial cortex barrel field was also studied as control. Our main result shows that an enriched environment combined with voluntary physical exercise manages to reverse the negative effects induced by darkness over the astroglial population of both the visual and the somatosensory cortices. On the other hand, exercise alone only produces effects upon the astroglial population of the somatosensory cortex, and less so when combined with an enriched environment.

Design of a noninvasive face mask for ocular occlusion in rats and assessment in a visual discrimination paradigm

The rat visual system is structured such that the large (>90 %) majority of retinal ganglion axons reach the contralateral lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and visual cortex (V1). This anatomical design allows for the relatively selective activation of one cerebral hemisphere under monocular viewing conditions. Here, we describe the design of a harness and face mask allowing simple and noninvasive monocular occlusion in rats. The harness is constructed from synthetic fiber (shoelace-type material) and fits around the girth region and neck, allowing for easy adjustments to fit rats of various weights. The face mask consists of soft rubber material that is attached to the harness by Velcro strips. Eyeholes in the mask can be covered by additional Velcro patches to occlude either one or both eyes. Rats readily adapt to wearing the device, allowing behavioral testing under different types of viewing conditions. We show that rats successfully acquire a water-maze-based visual discrimination task under monocular viewing conditions. Following task acquisition, interocular transfer was assessed. Performance with the previously occluded, "untrained" eye was impaired, suggesting that training effects were partially confined to one cerebral hemisphere. The method described herein provides a simple and noninvasive means to restrict visual input for studies of visual processing and learning in various rodent species.

Analysis of Time and Space Invariance of BOLD Responses in the Rat Visual System

Neuroimaging studies of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electrophysiology provide the linkage between neural activity and the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response. Here, BOLD responses to light flashes were imaged at 11.7T and compared with neural recordings from superior colliculus (SC) and primary visual cortex (V1) in rat brain--regions with different basal blood flow and energy demand. Our goal was to assess neurovascular coupling in V1 and SC as reflected by temporal/spatial variances of impulse response functions (IRFs) and assess, if any, implications for general linear modeling (GLM) of BOLD responses. Light flashes induced high magnitude neural/BOLD responses reproducibly from both regions. However, neural/BOLD responses from SC and V1 were markedly different. SC signals followed the boxcar shape of the stimulation paradigm at all flash rates, whereas V1 signals were characterized by onset/offset transients that exhibited different flash rate dependencies. We find that IRF(SC) is generally time-invariant across wider flash rate range compared with IRF(V1), whereas IRF(SC) and IRF(V1) are both space invariant. These results illustrate the importance of measured neural signals for interpretation of fMRI by showing that GLM of BOLD responses may lead to misinterpretation of neural activity in some cases.

Same-session functional assessment of rat retina and brain with manganese-enhanced MRI

Manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) is a powerful non-invasive approach for objectively measuring either retina or binocular visual brain activity in vivo. In this study, we investigated the sensitivity of MEMRI to monocular stimulation using a new protocol for providing within-subject functional comparisons in the retina and brain in the same scanning session. Adult Sprague Dawley or Long-Evans rats had one eye covered with an opaque patch. After intraperitoneal Mn(2+) administration on the following day, rats underwent visual stimulation for 8h. Animals were then anesthetized, and the brain and each eye examined by MEMRI. Function was assessed through pairwise comparisons of the patched (dark-adapted) versus unpatched (light-exposed) eyes, and of differentially-stimulated brain structures - the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, superior colliculus, and visual cortical regions - contralateral to the patched versus unpatched eye. As expected, Mn(2+) uptake was greater in the outer retina of dark-adapted, relative to light-exposed, eyes (P<0.05). Contralateral to the unpatched eye, significantly more Mn(2+) uptake was found throughout the visual brain regions than in the corresponding structures contralateral to the patched eye (P<0.05). Notably, this regional pattern of activity corresponded well to previous work with monocular stimulation. No stimulation-dependent differences in Mn(2+) uptake were observed in negative control brain regions (P>0.05). Post-hoc assessment of functional data by animal age and strain revealed no significant effects. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the acquisition of functional MRI data from the eye and visual brain regions in a single scanning session.

Cortical development of the visual system of the rat

Although rat is commonly used for studying the visual system, the development of spatio-temporal receptive field properties of neurons in its primary visual cortex remains relatively unknown. Extracellular single neuron recordings were thus carried out in anaesthetized newborn rats between postnatal (P) day 15 and 30 and in adult rats. The first neuronal responses evoked by drifting sinusoidal gratings were obtained at P16. From P27-P30 to adulthood, the neurons' optimal temporal frequency significantly increased, whereas the contrast threshold decreased. However, the optimal spatial frequency, spatial resolution and spatial bandwidth were, soon after eye opening, similar to those observed in the adult rat. The differential maturation of receptive field properties is discussed with regard to the functional pathways of the rat visual system.

Interhemispheric neuroplasticity following limb deafferentation detected by resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) studies in rat brain show brain reorganization following peripheral nerve injury. Subacute neuroplasticity was observed 2 weeks following transection of the four major nerves of the brachial plexus. Direct stimulation of the intact radial nerve reveals a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation pattern in the forelimb regions of the sensory and motor cortices that is significantly different from that observed in normal rats. Results of this fMRI experiment were used to determine seed voxel regions for fcMRI analysis. Intrahemispheric connectivities in the sensorimotor forelimb representations in both hemispheres are largely unaffected by deafferentation, whereas substantial disruption of interhemispheric sensorimotor cortical connectivity occurs. In addition, significant intra- and interhemispheric changes in connectivities of thalamic nuclei were found. These are the central findings of the study. They could not have been obtained from fMRI studies alone—both fMRI and fcMRI are needed. The combination provides a general marker for brain plasticity. The rat visual system was studied in the same animals as a control. No neuroplastic changes in connectivities were found in the primary visual cortex upon forelimb deafferentation. Differences were noted in regions responsible for processing multisensory visual-motor information. This incidental discovery is considered to be significant. It may provide insight into phantom limb epiphenomena.

The Expression Patterns of Nogo-A and NgR in the Neonatal Rat Visual Nervous System

Previous studies have shown that Nogo-NgR system plays multiple roles in controlling axonal regeneration and neuronal plasticity. However, the investigation on the distributions of Nogo and NgR was limited to restricted areas or special ages, and their expression patterns in the neonatal visual nervous system is still unknown. Frozen sections were made from eyeballs and brains of three neonatal rats, and expression of Nogo and NgR proteins were examined by immunofluorescence under a laser confocal microscopy. Nogo and NgR were observed to express in the cell bodies of retina, lateral geniculate bodies and visual cortex of the neonatal rats. Our results provide evidences that the Nogo-NgR system may play an active role in the plasticity of neonatal visual system.