Crosscorrelation analysis of intracolumnar neuronal connectivity in area 17 of binocularly deprived cats.

Eight cats were binocularly deprived of pattern vision by rearing in masks from the time of eye opening. Twenty five groups of 3 neurons and 28 neuronal pairs were studied in visual orientation columns of their striate cortices. The crosscorrelograms of neuronal discharges were analyzed and the inference of underlying interneuronal connectivity was made. The results were compared with the normal cats data obtained earlier in an identical experiment. Total number of existing interactions was only slightly reduced: from 95010 of analyzed pairs in normal cats to 90 percent in deprived animals. The most pronounced effect of visual deprivation was the reduction of the percentage of neuronal pairs that shared the same source of input from 61 to 34 percent. The proportion of direct excitatory connections was not affected, while an increase in the number of inhibitory correlations was found.