Increase in the density of geniculocortical afferents to layer I after reverse suture in kittens.

In kittens reared with one eye lid sutured shut from birth until after one month of age, geniculocortical afferents in layer I of area 17 are as sparse as obtained from normal kittens of the same age; however, when such a procedure was followed by opening the sutured lid and suturing the other lid, the afferents in layer I, examined one week later, were found much denser. These findings suggest that geniculocortical afferents in layer I may play a part in proliferative reorganization of the visual cortex.