Behavioral consequences of early visual exposure to contours of a single orientation.

Kittens were reared with goggles which presented horizontal stripes to both eyes, vertical stripes to both eyes, or horizontal stripes to one eye (HE) and vertical to the other (VE). Acuity was lower than in normally-reared cats, and the axis of best acuity did not correspond to the orientation experienced during rearing. In contrast, there were consistent differences in discrimination between two lines differing in orientation which did reflect visual experience. VE was more accurate in detecting differences in the orientation of near-vertical contours and HE was more accurate in detecting differences of near-horizontal contours.