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Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

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2016

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Synaptic Basis For Cross-Modal Plasticity: Enhanced Supragranular Dendritic Spine Density In Anterior Ectosylvian Auditory Cortex Of The Early Deaf Cat, H. Ruth Clemo, Stephen G. Lomber, M. Alex Meredith Apr 2016

Synaptic Basis For Cross-Modal Plasticity: Enhanced Supragranular Dendritic Spine Density In Anterior Ectosylvian Auditory Cortex Of The Early Deaf Cat, H. Ruth Clemo, Stephen G. Lomber, M. Alex Meredith

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

In the cat, the auditory field of the anterior ectosylvian sulcus (FAES) is sensitive to auditory cues and its deactivation leads to orienting deficits toward acoustic, but not visual, stimuli. However, in early deaf cats, FAES activity shifts to the visual modality and its deactivation blocks orienting toward visual stimuli. Thus, as in other auditory cortices, hearing loss leads to cross-modal plasticity in the FAES. However, the synaptic basis for cross-modal plasticity is unknown. Therefore, the present study examined the effect of early deafness on the density, distribution, and size of dendritic spines in the FAES. Young cats were ototoxically …


Visual Acceleration Perception For Simple And Complex Motion Patterns., Alexandra S Mueller, Brian Timney Jan 2016

Visual Acceleration Perception For Simple And Complex Motion Patterns., Alexandra S Mueller, Brian Timney

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Humans are able to judge whether a target is accelerating in many viewing contexts, but it is an open question how the motion pattern per se affects visual acceleration perception. We measured acceleration and deceleration detection using patterns of random dots with horizontal (simpler) or radial motion (more visually complex). The results suggest that we detect acceleration better when viewing radial optic flow than horizontal translation. However, the direction within each type of pattern has no effect on performance and observers detect acceleration and deceleration similarly within each condition. We conclude that sensitivity to the presence of acceleration is generally …