Imaging Visual Cortical Structure and Function In Vivo

The recent advent of in vivo two-photon microscopy has allowed the repeat imaging of cortical structures at microscopic resolution within intact brains. Recent data obtained using this imaging technique shows that dendritic spines, the postsynaptic sites of the majority of excitatory synapses in the central nervous system (CNS), rapidly remodel in response to changes in the visual environment. We combined two-photon microscopy of dendritic segments with intrinsic signal imaging of visual cortical responses in the developing ferret visual cortex, and showed that when one eye was deprived during the developmental critical period for ocular dominance plasticity, both dendritic spines and visual responses to the deprived eye were rapidly altered. A brief period of recovery where the eye was re-opened resulted in a return to pre-deprivation levels for both responses and dendritic spine density, showing that structural and functional changes are linked even at very rapid timescales. Additionally, two-photon microscopy can assay other functional and structural aspects of visual cortical function which I will review. Lastly, I will compare this technique to other imaging modalities available for assessment of the visual cortex in vivo.