Establishing the functional circuitry in the vertebrate visual system

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With this project we aim to reveal strategies of nature how to establish functional nerve cell connections during development. This will also help to understand the mechanisms needed for nerve regeneration after injury or neurodegenerative diseases. A general organizing principle of nerve cell connections in our brain is the formation of maps. For example, what we see with our eyes has to be represented in our brain appropriately. This is achieved through the correct formation of connections between the eye and the brain. Therefore, the visual system that we are studying is a good model to understand these processes.In our search for factors controlling the formation of nerve connections, we have recently identified a novel candidate molecule. It is found in the retina and in all connecting brain centres. Additionally, this molecule has some characteristics similar to proteins in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. Our analysis is therefore interesting in many respects. We will test the function of this molecule in different cell culture experiments. However, since no cell system can simulate the entire brain, we need to use an animal model (mouse) to examine the exact role of the protein during brain development, specifically in the connectivity between the eye and the brain. The combined results will enable us to draw important conclusions of how nerve cells connect to each other. This is evenly crucial in order to understand the mechanisms of nerve cell regeneration after injury or disease.