Microiontophoretic bicuculline restores binocular responses to visual cortical neurons in strabismic cats.

Rearing cats with surgically induced strabismus resulted in an abnormally high percentage (80%) of monocularly driven neurons in visual cortex. Microiontophoretic application of the GABA antagonist bicuculline restored binocular responses to over 50% of these monocular cells. Elevation of spontaneous rate by glutamate failed to produce binocularity. These results indicate that intracortical inhibition plays a role in the abnormal ocular dominance distribution of strabismic cats.