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Ocular Dominance

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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

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Definition

Ocular dominance refers to the columnar organization of the visual cortex, which was demonstrated in the formative work of Hubel and Wiesel in the 1960s. Inputs to the primary visual cortex are segregated, depending on whether the information originates from the contralateral or ipsilateral eye. The inputs alternate from each eye and form columns in bands of cortex in layer 4C of the striate cortex. These columns can be visualized as stripes.

Current Knowledge

Most of the work in this area has been done using animal models. The concept of brain plasticity as a result of experience has been widely studied using ocular dominance columns as the outcome variable. During a critical period early in life, the ocular preference of single cells can be modified by visual deprivation. The ocular dominance columns can be visualized by various methods. Autoradiography is one method whereby [3H] proline is injected in one eye, and the cortex is then sectioned and viewed under the...

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References and Readings

  • Adams, D. L., & Horton, J. C. (2009). Ocular dominance columns: Enigmas and challenges. The Neuroscientist, 15, 62–77.

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  • Blumenfeld, H. (2002). Neuroanatomy through clinical cases. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, Inc.

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  • Hubel, D.H. (1997). Eye, brain and vision. The architecture of the visual cortex. Hubel.med.harvard.edu.

  • Hubel, D. H., & Wiesel, T. N. (1963). Receptive fields of cells in striate cortex of very young, visually inexperienced kittens. Journal of Neurophysiology, 26, 994–1002.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd, 02115, Boston, MA, USA

    Mary-Ellen Meadows

Authors
  1. Mary-Ellen Meadows
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Correspondence to Mary-Ellen Meadows .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Meadows, ME. (2016). Ocular Dominance. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1387-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1387-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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