Distribution and Morphology of Cortical Terminals in the Cat Thalamus from the Anterior Ectosylvian Sulcus.

Two main types of cortical terminals have been identified in the cat thalamus. Large (type II) have been proposed to drive the response properties of thalamic cells while smaller (type I) are believed to modulate those properties. Among the cat's visual cortical areas, the anterior ectosylvian visual area (AEV) is considered as one of the highest areas in the hierarchical organization of the visual system.

Topographic Organization of Cholinergic Innervation From the Basal Forebrain to the Visual Cortex in the Rat.

Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter for the regulation of visual attention, plasticity, and perceptual learning. It is released in the visual cortex predominantly by cholinergic projections from the basal forebrain, where stimulation may produce potentiation of visual processes. However, little is known about the fine organization of these corticopetal projections, such as whether basal forebrain neurons projecting to the primary and secondary visual cortical areas (V1 and V2, respectively) are organized retinotopically.

Expression, distribution and function of kinin B receptor in the rat diabetic retina.

Background And Purpose: The kinin B receptor contributes to vascular inflammation and blood-retinal barrier breakdown in diabetic retinopathy (DR). We investigated the changes in expression, cellular localization and vascular inflammatory effect of B receptors in retina of streptozotocin diabetic rats.

Experimental Approach: The distribution of B receptors on retinal cell types was investigated by immunocytochemistry.

Cholinergic Potentiation of Restoration of Visual Function after Optic Nerve Damage in Rats.

Enhancing cortical plasticity and brain connectivity may improve residual vision following a visual impairment. Since acetylcholine plays an important role in attention and neuronal plasticity, we explored whether potentiation of the cholinergic transmission has an effect on the visual function restoration. To this end, we evaluated for 4 weeks the effect of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil on brightness discrimination, visually evoked potentials, and visual cortex reactivity after a bilateral and partial optic nerve crush in adult rats.

Cholinergic Potentiation Improves Perceptual-Cognitive Training of Healthy Young Adults in Three Dimensional Multiple Object Tracking.

A large body of literature supports cognitive enhancement as an effect of cholinergic potentiation. However, it remains elusive whether pharmacological manipulations of cholinergic neurotransmission enhance complex visual processing in healthy individuals. To test this hypothesis, we randomly administered either the cholinergic transmission enhancer donepezil (DPZ; 5 mg P.