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OCULAR DOMINANCE PLASTICITY AND THE THALAMUS

The underdog pathway gets a boost

Sommeijer et al. describe a previously unrecognized role of the thalamus: development of inhibition in the thalamus regulates ocular dominance plasticity, a form of critical-period plasticity regulation previously ascribed solely to the cortex.

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Fig. 1: The ‘underdog’ ipsilateral input pathway strengthens during monocular deprivation and development.

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Correspondence to Sandra J. Kuhlman.

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Jeon, B.B., Kuhlman, S.J. The underdog pathway gets a boost. Nat Neurosci 20, 1655–1656 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-017-0019-7

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