ABSTRACT
Sensory deprivation from birth leads to deleterious consequences for connectivity and function of the cerebral cortex. Beginning with the pioneering work of Wiesel and Hubel (1963, 1965), this has been especially well documented for the visual cortex. Binocular lid suture at birth, which prevents all pattern vision, renders the majority of neurons in the visual cortex either unresponsive to light or unselective to oriented contours. Loss of selectivity can be considered just as devastating as loss of responsiveness because it renders the cortical system essentially dysfunctional. These negative effects of sensory deprivation are thought to result from disuse and, consequently, lack of activation of corresponding circuits in the brain.
