Behavioral recovery in albino rats with glutamate-damaged retinas.

Adult, male, albino rats were trained to discriminate between two patterned stimuli in a T-maze. Performance on this task was assessed following intravitreal injection of 1 mumol glutamate. Discrimination performance declined to nearly random levels by 1 day postinjection and remained significantly depressed for 2 weeks. However, by 2 months after injection, there was evidence of behavioral recovery to preinjection levels despite significant loss of inner retinal neurons. Task-related experience immediately following or 2 months after injection proved both necessary and facilitative for recovery.