Brain and Intelligence Seminar NO.40

On June 10, the 40th Brain and Intelligence Seminar was successfully held. This session featured Prof. Wei-Qun FANG from the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who presented a talk entitled “From molecules to perception: a switch for visual ensemble maturation.”

How does the brain transform variable sensory experience into stable neural codes for reliable perception? Prof. Fang presented a novel finding: the maturation of cortical neuronal ensembles is not a gradual process of synaptic refinement, but is gated by a discrete critical window, in which an important growth factor signaling serves as a key molecular gatekeeper.

Prof. Fang’s team identified a previously unrecognized critical window for the maturation of orientation-selective ensembles in the visual cortex. Within this window, the growth factor signaling is required for coordinated firing, thereby determining whether neural ensembles can form stable and precise population codes. When early visual experience is deprived, this signaling pathway becomes persistently impaired, compromising ensemble coding precision and leading to long-lasting perceptual deficits—even after peripheral input and single-neuron responses have recovered.

Remarkably, Prof. Fang’s team developed a genetically encoded peptide tool that enables precise in vivo manipulation of this signaling. Transient recalibration of this molecular switch in adulthood restored coding precision of neural ensembles, and rescued visual perception deficits caused by early deprivation. This finding challenges the classical view that critical periods are irreversible, revealing that early-life sensory disruptions retain fundamental plasticity that can be targeted therapeutically.

The Brain and Intelligence Seminar aims to promote subject integration and in-depth exchanges in the fields of brain science and artificial intelligence and create a relaxed and open academic exchange atmosphere for teachers and students to jointly discuss the cutting-edge scientific trends of brain and intelligence. We look forward to more experts, scholars and young talents joining us to jointly promote the prosperity and development of frontier fields related to brain and intelligence.