Experience dependent plasticity of higher visual cortical areas in the mouse

Experience dependent plasticity in the visual cortex is a key paradigm for the study of mechanisms underpinning learning and memory. Despite this, studies involving manipulating visual experience have largely been limited to the primary visual cortex, V1, across various species. Here we investigated the effects of monocular deprivation (MD) on the ocular dominance and orientation selectivity of neurons in 4 visual cortical areas in the mouse: the binocular zone of V1 (V1b), the putative ‘ventral stream’ area LM and the putative ‘dorsal stream’ areas AL and PM. We employed two-photon calcium imaging to record neuronal responses in young adult mice before MD, immediately after MD, and following binocular recovery. Ocular dominance shifts following MD were greatest in LM and smallest in AL and PM; in all areas these shifts were mediated primarily through a reduction of deprived-eye responses, and a smaller increase in response through the non-deprived eye. The ocular dominance index recovered to pre-MD levels within 2 weeks in all areas. MD caused a modest reduction in orientation selectivity of deprived-eye responses in V1b, LM and AL, but not PM. Our results suggest that changes in ocular dominance in higher visual areas are not simply inherited from V1.