Experience-dependent changes in neural circuits have traditionally been investigated several synapses downstream of sensory input. Whether experience can alter the strength of primary sensory synapses remains mostly unknown. To address this issue, we investigated the consequences of odor deprivation on synapses made by olfactory sensory axons in the olfactory bulb of rats. Odor deprivation trig...

During a critical period of postnatal age sensory experience has a profound effect on maturation of visual cortical wiring. Electrophysiological evidence is indicating a substantial effect of visual deprivation on the visual cortical response properties. In this study we evaluated effect of light deprivation during a limited time of postnatal age on two aspects of spatial (working and reference...

Cortical maps express experience-dependent plasticity. However, the underlying cellular mechanisms remain unclear. We have recently shown that sensory deprivation results in large changes of the short-term dynamics of excitatory synapses at the junction of deprived and spared somatosensory (barrel) cortex, which may contribute to map reorganization. A key issue is whether the alterations in sho...

Changes in postural stability following sensory manipulation were investigated among Parkinson's disease patients and healthy older adults. Sixteen Parkinson's disease patients (PD; mean age 68.2 ± 2.7 years) and sixteen older adults (control; mean age 67.6 + 2.6 years) performed quiet standing trials that progressed through baseline, sensory manipulation, and reintegration. Postural control fo...

1 École d’Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada H3T 1P1 2Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark 3Danish Research Center for Magnetic Resonance, Hvidovre Hospital, DK-2650 Hvidovre, Denmark 4Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A5K8 5Cen...

Arm-amputation involves two powerful drivers for brain plasticity-sensory deprivation and altered use. However, research has largely focused on sensory deprivation and maladaptive change. Here we show that adaptive patterns of limb usage after amputation drive cortical plasticity. We report that individuals with congenital or acquired limb-absence vary in whether they preferentially use their i...

Sensory systems do not work in isolation; instead, they show interactions that are specifically uncovered during sensory loss. To identify and characterize these interactions, we investigated whether visual deprivation leads to functional enhancement in primary auditory cortex (A1). We compared sound-evoked responses of A1 neurons in visually deprived animals to those from normally reared anima...

This study investigated the role of sensory experience in the refinement of whisker sensory relay synapses in the ventral posterior medial nucleus (VPm) of the murine thalamus. Sensory deprivation was done by whisker plucking, and synaptic connectivity was determined by whole-cell patch-clamp recording in acute slices. Sensory deprivation started at P12-P13, but not at P16, disrupted the elimin...