Mechanisms of Plasticity in Subcortical Visual Areas

Maël Duménieu (1) , Béatrice Marquèze-Pouey (1) , Michaël Russier (1) , Dominique Debanne (1)

1 UNIS - Inserm U1072 - Unité de Neurobiologie des canaux Ioniques et de la Synapse

Visual plasticity is classically considered to occur essentially in the primary and secondary cortical areas. Subcortical visual areas such as the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) or the superior colliculus (SC) have long been held as basic structures responsible for a stable and defined function. In this model, the dLGN was considered as a relay of visual information travelling from the retina to cortical areas and the SC as a sensory integrator orienting body movements towards visual targets. However, recent findings suggest that both dLGN and SC neurons express functional plasticity, adding unexplored layers of complexity to their previously attributed functions. The existence of neuronal plasticity at the level of visual subcortical areas redefines our approach of the visual system. The aim of this paper is therefore to review the cellular and molecular mechanisms for activity-dependent plasticity of both synaptic transmission and cellular properties in subcortical visual areas.

Mots clés: visual system; lateral geniculate nucleus; superior colliculus; synaptic plasticity; intrinsic plasticity; Hebbian plasticity; homeostatic plasticity

Domaines: Neurobiologie

Maël Duménieu, Béatrice Marquèze-Pouey, Michaël Russier, Dominique Debanne. Mechanisms of Plasticity in Subcortical Visual Areas. Cells, 2021, 10, ⟨10.3390/cells10113162⟩. ⟨hal-03437108⟩