9319373 Cooper The goal of this work is to understand how the connections between nerve cells (call synapses) in the visual cortex of the brain change during maturation from newborn to adult. Dr. Cooper has developed a theory that during the critical period in development when the brain must receive visual input to develop properly, it is a change in the neuronal circuits with the brain that is critical for proper development rather than changes in the properties of the synapses, as has been proposed by others. The experiments that will be done by this team of investigators will test this theory by doing experiments on neurons in in vitro brain slices from rat visual cortex at different times during development and from rats raised in different visual environments. If this theory is proven to be true, the work outlined in this proposal will change significantly the way in which we view the developing brain.
