THE RETINAL CONNECTOME

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The long term goals of this research are to: (1) generate a complete network map for the mammalian retina and (2) define the signaling profiles of all retinal cells. Fusions of molecular and computational analyses now make it possible to perform these tasks in a practical time frame. Specific Aim 1. Realization of a complete network map for the mammalian retina. Retinal networks converge on ganglion cells, creating some 15-20 filtered versions of the visual world. Maps of these filters will be acquired by fusing molecular phenotyping (to visualize all cells), excitation mapping (to visualize function), and large-scale ultrastructural imaging (to visualize all connections). The novel strategy is the computational propagation of molecular data into the ultrastructural data, producing a combined map of all cell classes and connections. Significance: Understanding any system requires a complete map: a map against which changes triggered by disease or experimental intervention can be gauged. This work has taken on new importance as inherited or acquired retinal degenerations are now known to heavily impact retinal wiring and neuronal survival, showing significant similarities to temporal lobe epilepsy. A complete network map provides the essential guide for any strategy to restore vision.