Monocular Deprivation
Objective: To assess the effects of monocular deprivation on cortical acuity during a transient plasticity window reopened by RK peptide infusion in adult mice
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Materials4
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Protocol Steps
Reopen plasticity window in adult mice
Infuse RK peptide directly into visual cortex to disrupt Otx2 localization to parvalbumin-positive cells and reopen the critical period of plasticity
Note: RK peptide is specific to the arginine-lysine doublet motif; Alanine-Alanine variant and scrambled peptide controls fail to reactivate plasticity
View evidence from paper
“Direct infusion of RK peptide similarly disrupts endogenous Otx2 localization to PV cells, reduces PV and PNN expression, and reopens plasticity in adult mice.”
Perform monocular deprivation
Close one eye during the transient plasticity window that has been reopened by RK peptide infusion
Note: This procedure is specific to the RK motif and does not work with Alanine-Alanine variant or scrambled peptide controls
View evidence from paper
“The closure of one eye during this transient window reduces cortical acuity and is specific to the RK motif, as an Alanine-Alanine variant or a scrambled peptide fails to reactivate plasticity.”
Assess cortical acuity
Measure cortical acuity following monocular deprivation to determine effects on visual processing
Note: Monocular deprivation reduces cortical acuity during the reopened plasticity window
View evidence from paper
“The closure of one eye during this transient window reduces cortical acuity and is specific to the RK motif”
Evaluate binocular vision restoration in amblyopic mice
Assess whether transient reopening of plasticity in adult mice restores binocular vision in amblyopic animals
Note: This demonstrates therapeutic potential of the RK peptide approach
View evidence from paper
“Conversely, this transient reopening of plasticity in the adult restores binocular vision in amblyopic mice.”