We propose to study the behavioral, electrophysiologic, histologic and neurochemical effects in the visual system of infant monkeys (Macaca mulatta) following optically induced strabismus, anisometropia and unilateral visual deprivation by lid suture. We plan to explore to what extent the visual cortex and the lateral geniculate nucleus recover from brief periods of abnormal visual input during infancy and how cortical electrophysiology can be correlated with visual acuity and stereoacuity in strabismus and different forms of amblyopia. In order to identify the site and mechanisms of visual inhibition, we propose to analyze by autoradiographic and immunocytochemical techniques, neurotransmitter-specific neurons and their terminals in visually deprived and normal monkey retina and, eventually, extend these studies to the more central portions of the visual pathways. The long-term objective of these studies is to add to our understanding of how strabismus, visual deprivation and inhibition affect the central visual pathways, functionally and structurally, in an animal model that owing to great similarity of its visual system with that of humans would permit generalization of research results to similar conditions in human patients. Hopefully, this work will eventually lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of a condition that affects 4-5% of the population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY001120-14
Application #
3255693
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Project Start
1976-03-01
Project End
1991-06-30
Budget Start
1987-09-30
Budget End
1991-06-30
Support Year
14
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Baylor College of Medicine
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
074615394
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
Crawford, M L; Harwerth, R S; Smith 3rd, E L et al. (2001) Experimental glaucoma in primates: changes in cytochrome oxidase blobs in V1 cortex. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 42:358-64
Crawford, M L; Harwerth, R S; Smith 3rd, E L et al. (2000) Glaucoma in primates: cytochrome oxidase reactivity in parvo- and magnocellular pathways. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 41:1791-802
Crawford, M L (1998) Column spacing in normal and visually deprived monkeys. Exp Brain Res 123:282-8
Crawford, M L; Harwerth, R S; Chino, Y M et al. (1996) Binocularity in prism-reared monkeys. Eye (Lond) 10 ( Pt 2):161-6
Crawford, M L; von Noorden, G K; Harwerth, R S et al. (1996) Judgments by monkeys of apparent depth in dynamic random-dot stereograms. Behav Brain Res 79:219-25
Crawford, M L; von Noorden, G K (1996) Shrinkage and recovery of cells of the lateral geniculate nuclei with prism-rearing in macaques. Behav Brain Res 79:233-8
Crawford, M L (1996) Optical control of early visual experience in monkeys. Behav Brain Res 79:201-5
Crawford, M L; Harwerth, R S; Smith, E L et al. (1996) Loss of stereopsis in monkeys following prismatic binocular dissociation during infancy. Behav Brain Res 79:207-18
Crawford, M L; Pesch, T W; von Noorden, G K (1996) Excitatory binocular neurons are lost following prismatic binocular dissociation in infant monkeys. Behav Brain Res 79:227-32
Smith 3rd, E L; Harwerth, R S; Siderov, J et al. (1992) Prior binocular dissociation reduces monocular form deprivation amblyopia in monkeys. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 33:1804-10

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