In article <2upqvk$5i1 at lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk>, dlr1002 at cus.cam.ac.uk (Dan
Ruderman) wrote:
> Would anyone have a good set of references on changes in
> the function of mammalian visual systems as a function
> of early visual experience? I remember that some experiments
> were done on cats using vertical blinders, but don't have
> a reference.
There are several reviews, although a few years old.
Daniels, J.D. and Pettigrew, J.D. (1976) Development of neuronal responses
in the visual system of cats. In Neural and Behavioral Specificity, ed. by
G. Gottlieb, Academic, New York, pp. 195-232.
Fregnac, Y. and Imbert, M. (1984) Development of neuronal selectivity in
primary visual cortex of cat. Physiological Reviews 64:325-434.
Friedlander, M.J and Tootle, J.S. (1990) Postnatal anatomical and
physiological development of the visual system. In Development of Sensory
Systems in Mammals, ed. by Coleman, J.R., Wiley, New York, pp. 61-124.
Mitchell, D.E. and Timney, B. (1984) Postnatal development of function in
the mammalian visual system. In Handbook of Physiology - The Nervous System
III, Sensory Processes, ed. by I. Darian-Smith, American Physiological
Society, Bethesda, pp. 507-555.
Movshon, J.A. and Van Sluyters, R.C. (1981) Visual neural development. Ann.
Rev. Psychol. 32:477-522.
There are also general books that cover this territory.
>> Has psychophysics also been done on the performance of a
> visual system which has been reared under strange conditions?
The best examples are perhaps the work of Don Mitchell on amblyopia, and
Tania Pasternak on motion blindness.
Look at
Pasternak, T. and Leinen, L. (1986) Pattern and motion vision in cats with
selective loss of cortical direction selectivity. J. Neurosci. 6:938-945.
--
Alan Saul
saul+ at pitt.edu
