<p> Kittens were raised with early visual input restricted to
horizontal, vertical, or oblique (45°) lines to determine the oculomotor
consequences of such early restriction, and the limits of early neural
plasticity.
{i) All animals developed pendular nystagmus (frequency 3-5 Hz) which
appeared to be related to active visual search, and was lowest in amplitude
for animals exposed to oblique lines.
(ii) Many cats developed convergent squint which was most severe for
those exposed to horizontal lines.
(iii) Abnormal binocular functioning of visual cortical units was found
in all restricted animals.
(iv) The stimulus orientation of maximum response corresponded to the
experienced orientation for most units encountered in the animals exposed
to vertical or horizontal lines.
(v) In animals exposed to oblique lines all stimulus orientations
appeared to be represented in the cortex; units responding maximally
to the experienced orientation were not most often encountered.
The results were discussed in terms of possible anatomical
constraints on visual plasticity and a preliminary model of visual
development was explored. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/20392 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Turkel, Joseph |
| Contributors | Pritchard, R. M., Psychology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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