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Visual development in primates: Neural mechanisms and critical periods
Author(s) -
Kiorpes Lynne
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
developmental neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.716
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1932-846X
pISSN - 1932-8451
DOI - 10.1002/dneu.22276
Subject(s) - visual cortex , neuroscience , lateral geniculate nucleus , biology , visual system , visual perception , perception , set (abstract data type) , receptive field , visual field , surround suppression , psychology , computer science , programming language
Despite many decades of research into the development of visual cortex, it remains unclear what neural processes set limitations on the development of visual function and define its vulnerability to abnormal visual experience. This selected review examines the development of visual function and its neural correlates, and highlights the fact that in most cases receptive field properties of infant neurons are substantially more mature than infant visual function. One exception is temporal resolution, which can be accounted for by resolution of neurons at the level of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). In terms of spatial vision, properties of single neurons alone are not sufficient to account for visual development. Different visual functions develop over different time courses. Their onset may be limited by the existence of neural response properties that support a given perceptual ability, but the subsequent time course of maturation to adult levels remains unexplained. Several examples are offered suggesting that taking account of weak signaling by infant neurons, correlated firing, and pooled responses of populations of neurons brings us closer to an understanding of the relationship between neural and behavioral development. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 75: 1080–1090, 2015