[Plastic properties of cat visual cortex neurons].

Prolonged changes in receptive fields of cells in the visual cortex were studied in different periods after ablation of projection connections of the cortex in the contralateral hemisphere. Cellular activity was recorded in non-anaesthetized immobilized cats in different periods (from 2 hours to 14 months) after ablation. It was found that 6-7 months after unilateral section of projection fibres in the cortex, photic sensitivity of neuronal elements markedly decreased in the field 17, whereas cells in fields 18 and 19 retained their responses to commonly used photic stimuli. The paper discusses the problem of different roles of retino-geniculo-cortical and retino-tecto-thalamo-cortical systems in the compensation of impaired visual function.