| Project/Area Number |
13610091
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
実験系心理学
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| Research Institution | DAIICHI WELFARE UNIVERSITY (2003)
佐賀医科大学 (2001-2002) |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKAI Makoto DAIICHI WELFARE UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, PROFESSOR, 人間社会福祉学部, 教授 (80124808)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
IKEDA Yukinobu SAGA UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, PROFESSOR, 文化教育学部, 教授 (50159638)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2001 – 2003
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2003)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
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| Keywords | MONOCULAR ENUCLEATION / UNILATERAL VISUAL CORTEX LESIONS / REARING UNDER DARKNESS / VISUAL DISCRIMINATION LEARNING / NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS / c-Fos EXPRESSION / 視覚野破壊 / 白黒弁別学習 / ラット / アルビノラット / 脳損傷 / 補償機能 / 神経系の可塑性 / 視覚系 |
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| Research Abstract |
In a previous study we investigated the effects of 10-week-old unilateral visual cortex lesions made at 3 weeks of age upon the acquisition of a black-white (BW) discrimination in rats whose one eye was either removed at birth (OEB) or at 13 weeks of age (OET). The unilateral visual cortex lesions were always made at the site contralateral to the remaining eye. We found that not only OEBs but also OETs became able to master BW discrimination. This facilitative effect on the acquisition of BW discrimination was speculated to result from either an increase of neurotrophic factors, released when the visual cortex lesions were made or the increased use of the uncrossed visual pathways and related structures. The present study was aimed at evaluating the contribution of the latter to the facilitative effect by rearing OEBs and OETs under darkness from 3 weeks of age to 13 weeks. of age. Except for rearing rats under darkness, the experimental procedures were identical to the previous study. The results indicate that both OEBs and OETs did master BW discrimination within a stipulated 300 trials. It was also found that relearning following the lesions of the remaining visual cortex was not possible in both OEBs and OETs, indicating that the original BW discrimination was mediated by the visual cortex and its related structures ipsilateral to the remaining eye. Consequently, we conclude that the facilitative effects on the acquisition of BW discrimination by OEBs and OETs in the present study are mainly, if not all, attributed to the possible increase of neurotrophic factors, released when the visual cortex lesions were made at 3 weeks of age.
As a first step towards the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the facilitative effect of the unilateral visual cortex lesions at 3 weeks of age upon BW discrimination, it would be of great interest to investigate if c-Fos expression is enhanced in the remaining visual cortex neurons, especially, in OETs.
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