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The role of maturation and visual experience in the development of eye alignment in cats

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Summary

In the developing kitten, the alignment of the pupils changes from strongly divergent to almost parallel. The visual axes, however, seem to stay almost parallel throughout this period. The influence of early visual experience on this development is examined in the present study. The results suggest that the development of eye alignment is not controlled by visual experience, but depends on maturational processes, and that normal visual input serves only to halt these processes at the appropriate time.

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von Grünau, M.W. The role of maturation and visual experience in the development of eye alignment in cats. Exp Brain Res 37, 41–47 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01474252

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