Beyond monocular deprivation: context-dependent plasticity in the adult visual system

This thesis is inspired by the questions: what mechanisms underlie short-term ocular dominance plasticity in the adult visual cortex, and what does this phenomenon reveal about residual plasticity beyond the developmental critical period? As a first approach to the field of study, I performed a meta-analysis of the nearly 80 studies published in the last 10 years on short-term monocular deprivation; this established the robustness of the effect and broadened its interpretation beyond simple sensory deprivation. I followed this up with an experimental approach where I substituted monocular deprivation with monocular delay to demonstrate that interocular mismatch during active visuomotor engagement is sufficient to induce plasticity. Finally, I showed that goal-directed action enhances the classical monocular deprivation effect. Together, these findings converge in suggesting that short-term plasticity is a context-sensitive mechanism shaped by sensorimotor predictions and behavioral relevance.