The Receptive Fields of Dendrites and Spines in the Visual Cortex

描述（由申请人提供）：视觉皮层中的单个神经元在其树突上接收来自其他皮层神经元的数千个突触输入。这些不同的突触输入在感觉信号处理中的功能是未知的。我们在体内标记单个神经元，以便整个树突树可以可视化和映射功能。我们研究是否树突上的突触子集处理不同的刺激功能的环境。皮层神经元上的这些突触可能在经验依赖性可塑性和双眼视觉的恢复中起重要作用，这些双眼视觉的恢复是在最初的视觉经验改变的不利影响之后，例如在弱视期间。 公共卫生相关性：弱视是儿童视觉障碍的常见原因，其中大脑内的回路有利于处理来自两只眼睛中的一只的视觉刺激。该奖项将支持可能受弱视影响的视觉皮层神经元的结构和功能成像研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A single neuron in the visual cortex receives many thousands of synaptic inputs on its dendrites from other cortical neurons. The functions of these various synaptic inputs in sensory signal processing are unknown. We label single neurons in vivo such that the entire dendritic tree can be visualized and mapped functionally. We examine whether subsets of synapses on dendrites process different stimulus features in the environment. These synapses on cortical neurons may play an important role in experience dependent plasticity and the recovery of binocular vision after the initially detrimental effects of altered visual experience such as during amblyopia. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Amblyopia is a common cause of visual impairment in children where circuits within the brain favor the processing of visual stimuli from just one of the two eyes. This award will support research on structural and functional imaging of neurons in the visual cortex that may be affected by amblyopia.