Intrinsic photosensitivity of retinal ganglion cells

描述（由申请人提供）：在经典视觉中，视网膜神经节细胞传递由视杆细胞和视锥细胞产生的光信息。一种独特的神经节细胞群的发现改变了这一模型：这些继电器本身就是光感受器，并通知各种非图像形成的视觉过程，如昼夜节律光干扰、瞳孔光反射和运动的急性抑制。我们对这些神经元的光敏感机制知之甚少。拟议的研究将首先确定它们的动作电位是如何被光刺激的内在信号和突触信号驱动的。然后将表征本征光电流，包括其对光和电压的敏感性，动力学，离子选择性以及第二信使的电位门控。这些信息将有助于指导光转导级联的分子遗传学探索。光通常被认为是视觉感知方面的，但它在生理上的广泛重要性在季节性情感障碍和时差等疾病中是显而易见的，它在这些疾病中起着主要作用。了解光敏神经节细胞将有助于理解基本的、依赖光的生理及其在疾病中的紊乱。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In classical vision, retinal ganglion cells relay light information generated by rods and cones. The discovery of a unique ganglion cell population has changed this model: these relays are themselves photoreceptors, and inform diverse, non-image-forming visual processes such as circadian photoentrainment, the pupillary light reflex, and the acute suppression of movement. Little is known about the mechanism of light sensitivity in these neurons. The proposed research will begin by determining how their action potentials are driven by light-stimulated intrinsic and synaptic signals. The intrinsic photocurrent will then be characterized, including its sensitivity to light and voltage, its kinetics, its ionic selectivity, and its potential gating by second messengers. The information will help guide a molecular genetic exploration of the phototransduction cascade. Light is often considered in terms of visual perception, but its widespread importance to physiology is evident in ailments such as seasonal affective disorder and jet lag, where it plays the major role. Understanding the photosensitive ganglion cells will help in understanding basic, light-dependent physiology and its disturbance in illness.