A developmental critical period for ocular dominance plasticity of binocular neurons in mouse superior colliculus
Guanglei Hu,
Ailin Chen,
Jingjing Ye,
Qiong Liu,
Jiafeng Wang,
Cunxiu Fan,
Xiaoqing Wang,
Mengqi Huang,
Menghan Dai,
Xuefeng Shi,
Yu Gu
Affiliations
Guanglei Hu
State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310000, China
Ailin Chen
Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Institute, Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300020, China
Jingjing Ye
Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Institute, Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300020, China; Medical College of Optometry and Ophthalmology, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, China
Qiong Liu
School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310000, China
Jiafeng Wang
Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Institute, Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300020, China
Cunxiu Fan
Jiading Branch of Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 800 Huangjiahuayuan Road, Shanghai 201803, China
Xiaoqing Wang
Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China
Mengqi Huang
State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Menghan Dai
State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Xuefeng Shi
Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin Eye Institute, Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300020, China; Medical College of Optometry and Ophthalmology, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, China; Institute of Ophthalmology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300020, China; Corresponding author
Yu Gu
State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Detecting visual features in the environment is crucial for animals’ survival. The superior colliculus (SC) is implicated in motion detection and processing, whereas how the SC integrates visual inputs from the two eyes remains unclear. Using in vivo electrophysiology, we show that mouse SC contains many binocular neurons that display robust ocular dominance (OD) plasticity in a critical period during early development, which is similar to, but not dependent on, the primary visual cortex. NR2A- and NR2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play an essential role in the regulation of SC plasticity. Blocking NMDA receptors can largely prevent the impairment of predatory hunting caused by monocular deprivation, indicating that maintaining the binocularity of SC neurons is required for efficient hunting behavior. Together, our studies reveal the existence and function of OD plasticity in SC, which broadens our understanding of the development of subcortical visual circuitry relating to motion detection and predatory hunting.
