Recovery of orientation selectivity in kitten primary visual cortex is slowed down by bilateral section of ophthalmic trigeminal afferents.

The recovery of orientation selectivity in the primary visual cortex has been studied in 6-week-old dark-reared (DR) kittens after visual exposure of various durations following bilateral section of either the ophthalmic (V1) or the maxillary (V2) branches of the Vth nerve. After 6 h of vision, visual cortical neurones become orientation selective in V2-operated kittens as well as in intact animals, while they remain non-specific in V1-operated kittens. However, in this latter case, if the duration of visual exposure is extended to 4 weeks, a slow and incomplete recovery of orientation selectivity takes place.