The OFF-pathway dominance of P2X2-purinoceptors is formed without visual experience

Visual input in the critical period is an important determinant of the functions of the visual system, affecting for example the formation of the ocular dominance column in the visual cortex. The final map of columnar organization is usually determined by plastic changes in the critical period, but organization is distorted without adequate visual input. Here, we examined whether formation of the OFF-pathway dominance of P2X2-purinoceptor signaling in the mouse retina is the result of visual experience. The P2X2-purinoceptor signaling pathway developed during the critical period. However, visual experience in this period produced no plastic change in the formation of the OFF-pathway dominance of P2X2-purinoceptor signaling. Our findings suggest that the OFF-pathway dominance of P2X2-signaling in the mouse retina is intrinsically programmed.