Institute of Neuroscience and Center for Integrated Protein Science, Technical University Munich, Biedersteinerstrasse 29, 80802 Munich, Germany.
Neuron. 2011 Aug 11;71(3):425-32. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.06.013.
Previous studies of the ferret visual cortex indicate that the development of direction selectivity requires visual experience. Here, we used two-photon calcium imaging to study the development of direction selectivity in layer 2/3 neurons of the mouse visual cortex in vivo. Surprisingly, just after eye opening nearly all orientation-selective neurons were also direction selective. During later development, the number of neurons responding to drifting gratings increased in parallel with the fraction of neurons that were orientation, but not direction, selective. Our experiments demonstrate that direction selectivity develops normally in dark-reared mice, indicating that the early development of direction selectivity is independent of visual experience. Furthermore, remarkable functional similarities exist between the development of direction selectivity in cortical neurons and the previously reported development of direction selectivity in the mouse retina. Together, these findings provide strong evidence that the development of orientation and direction selectivity in the mouse brain is distinctly different from that in ferrets.
先前对雪貂视觉皮层的研究表明，方向选择性的发展需要视觉经验。在这里，我们使用双光子钙成像技术在体研究了小鼠视觉皮层第 2/3 层神经元的方向选择性的发展。令人惊讶的是，在刚刚睁眼后，几乎所有具有方向选择性的神经元也具有方向选择性。在后期发育过程中，对漂移光栅有反应的神经元数量与具有方向选择性而不是方向选择性的神经元的比例平行增加。我们的实验表明，暗适应小鼠的方向选择性正常发育，表明方向选择性的早期发展不依赖于视觉经验。此外，皮层神经元中方向选择性的发育与先前报道的小鼠视网膜中方向选择性的发育之间存在显著的功能相似性。综上所述，这些发现为小鼠大脑中方向和方向选择性的发育明显不同于雪貂提供了有力证据。
