Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series: Behavioral and Pharmacological Enhancement of Plasticity in the Adult Macaque Visual Cortex
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Maëva Gacoin
PhD, Post-Doctoral Researcher, McGill University
Abstract: In early development, the brain is highly sensitive to sensory inputs within a critical period. Plasticity persists beyond this, aiding learning and repair. I investigated visual plasticity using fMRI with fluoxetine administration (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor – SSRI), in adult primates, revealing neural changes during top-down behavioral manipulations. In a first part, involving three distinct visual tasks coupling both top-down and bottom-up mechanisms, I will describe the effect of fluoxetine administration on visual and attentional features. Then, I will characterize these effects on the whole brain functional connectivity (fMRI) changes following an extensive reward-based learning of novel spatial contingencies, before and after the impact of fluoxetine. The general decorrelation between the ventral and dorsal visual pathways, observed following reward-based perceptual learning, is further enhanced in the presence of the SSRI. Finally, I will show that while activations patterns in visual area V2 track the spatial priority map constructed through the reward-based learning, these effects are greatly enhanced by fluoxetine.
The Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series will advance the vision of Dr. William Feindel (1918–2014), Former Director of the Neuro (1972–1984), to constantly bridge the clinical and research realms. The talks will highlight the latest advances and discoveries in neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging.
Speakers will include scientists from across The Neuro, as well as colleagues and collaborators locally and from around the world. The series is intended to provide a virtual forum for scientists and trainees to continue to foster interdisciplinary exchanges on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of brain and cognitive disorders.
