The long-term objective of our research is to understand the rules that govern the normal and abnormal development of binocular functions in primates. The proposed experiments focus on how binocular conflicting signals early in life disrupt the development of functional binocular connections in the primate visual cortex. The proposed research builds on our previous work that has documented both the normal maturation of binocular connections in the primary visual cortex (V1) and the manner in which early discordant vision alters the development of binocular signal interactions. We will create models of strabismus in infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), many of which will have their monocular and binocular vision tested behaviorally prior to the neurophysiological experiments. Quantitative, single-unit recording techniques will be employed as our primary tool to explore the functional status of the visual cortex in anesthetized and paralyzed animals. Histochemical methods and optical imaging techniques will complement our standard neurophysiological experiments. The specific goals of the new research are to: 1) determine how the onset age of early strabismus affects the nature and severity of binocular deficits. 2) shed light on the neural mechanisms that underlie the high prevalence of binocular suppression in V1 in animals reared with strabismus. 3) investigate the hypothesis that sustained cortical suppression early in life may be a critical factor in the later emergence of amblyopia. 4) determine if V1 units in strabismic monkeys show a temporal-to- nasal bias in motion signal processing and if early binocular suppression in V1 plays a role in this asymmetry. Together, the proposed research will provide new insight into abnormal cortical events brought about by early discordant binocular visual experience. In humans, early onset strabismus severely disrupts vision development in a substantial proportion of infants in this country. Some of the experiments here are designed to test several new hypotheses that have been formulated based on our preliminary studies in monkeys and existing clinical data on binocular vision anomalies in strabismic humans. The results from the proposed research will hopefully have an impact on the development of effective strategies for the prevention and treatments of binocular vision disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY008128-11
Application #
6125071
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-VISA (01))
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
1988-09-30
Project End
2003-11-30
Budget Start
1999-12-01
Budget End
2000-11-30
Support Year
11
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$307,658
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Houston
Department
Other Basic Sciences
Type
Schools of Optometry/Ophthalmol
DUNS #
800771594
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77204
Takahata, Toru; Patel, Nimesh B; Balaram, Pooja et al. (2018) Long-term histological changes in the macaque primary visual cortex and the lateral geniculate nucleus after monocular deprivation produced by early restricted retinal lesions and diffuser induced form deprivation. J Comp Neurol 526:2955-2972
Smith 3rd, Earl L; Hung, Li-Fang; Arumugam, Baskar et al. (2017) Observations on the relationship between anisometropia, amblyopia and strabismus. Vision Res 134:26-42
Wang, Ye; Zhang, Bin; Tao, Xiaofeng et al. (2017) Noisy Spiking in Visual Area V2 of Amblyopic Monkeys. J Neurosci 37:922-935
Wang, Y; Zhang, B; Tao, X et al. (2016) Noisy Spiking in Visual Area V2 of Amblyopic Monkeys. J Neurosci :
Tao, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Bin; Shen, Guofu et al. (2014) Early monocular defocus disrupts the normal development of receptive-field structure in V2 neurons of macaque monkeys. J Neurosci 34:13840-54
Shen, Guofu; Tao, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Bin et al. (2014) Oblique effect in visual area 2 of macaque monkeys. J Vis 14:
Zhang, Bin; Tao, Xiaofeng; Shen, Guofu et al. (2013) Receptive-field subfields of V2 neurons in macaque monkeys are adult-like near birth. J Neurosci 33:2639-49
Vreysen, Samme; Zhang, Bin; Chino, Yuzo M et al. (2012) Dynamics of spatial frequency tuning in mouse visual cortex. J Neurophysiol 107:2937-49
Baldwin, Mary K L; Kaskan, Peter M; Zhang, Bin et al. (2012) Cortical and subcortical connections of V1 and V2 in early postnatal macaque monkeys. J Comp Neurol 520:544-69
Zhang, Bin; Tao, Xiaofeng; Wensveen, Janice M et al. (2011) Effects of brief daily periods of unrestricted vision during early monocular form deprivation on development of visual area 2. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 52:7222-31

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