Cynader M, Leporé F, Guillemot J P
Nature. 1981 Mar 12;290(5802):139-40. doi: 10.1038/290139a0.
Functional asymmetries between the two sides of the brain, a well documented phenomenon in species as different as frog and man, are thought to arise from genetically determined anatomical differences which, at least in humans, may be observed in utero. Functional asymmetries can, however, be reversed after damage to one side of the brain. Here we report that rearing of kittens with the optic chiasm sectioned and one eyelid sutured during postnatal development results in a functional asymmetry in the corpus callosum, a bidirectional pathway which inter-connects the visual cortices on the two sides of the brain. Visual input originating on the side of the brain ipsilateral to the sutured eye loses the ability to influence cells on the other side of the brain. Conversely, visual input originating on the side of the brain ipsilateral to the exposed eye markedly increases its influence in the other hemisphere.
大脑两侧之间的功能不对称，这一在青蛙和人类等差异巨大的物种中都有充分记录的现象，被认为源于基因决定的解剖学差异，至少在人类中，这种差异在子宫内就可以观察到。然而，大脑一侧受损后，功能不对称可能会被逆转。在此我们报告，在出生后发育期间将小猫的视交叉切断并缝合一只眼睑进行饲养，会导致胼胝体出现功能不对称，胼胝体是连接大脑两侧视觉皮层的双向通路。来自与缝合眼同侧大脑一侧的视觉输入失去了影响大脑另一侧细胞的能力。相反，来自与未缝合眼同侧大脑一侧的视觉输入在另一半球的影响则显著增加。
