Visual Inputs and Information Processing in Sensory Cortex: An in vivo Developmental Study

The cerebral cortex of mammals can be subdivided into many different areas based on differences in internal structure, functional properties, and behavioral role. We are interested in the way these differences come about developmentally, and in how they are represented in terms of the actual cortical neural networks. One intriguing possibility is that the identity of a cortical area is determined by the type of input that it receives during its early development. To address this question, we have utilized a preparation in which we can change the modality of the input that a cortical area receives, before the stage in the animal’s life when that area has established its final identity. Specifically, we have induced visual inputs to innervate the auditory pathway, and subsequently examined the anatomical, physiological, and behavioral consequences of this rewiring of the auditory cortex.