Prenatal Development of Visual System

描述（由申请人提供）：所有离开眼睛的视觉信息都通过视网膜神经节细胞（RGC）的活动传递。在人类和其他具有高度发达视觉系统的动物中，RGCs属于功能不同的类别，它们选择性地对视觉环境中的不同特征做出反应。该研究计划的目的是确定猕猴RGCs的产前成熟以及促进M和P细胞分化的机制。我们将重点讨论灵长类RGC的两个主要类别，M类和P类。这项研究包括三组实验。第一个主要系列的实验（具体目标1）将测试的假设，即RGC是响应于出生前的视觉刺激和分化的细胞与M样和P样反应特性开始出生前。第二系列实验（特定目标2）将检验M和P RGC在其内在膜特性中表达类别特异性差异并且这些差异在出生前出现的假设。最后，第三系列的实验将测试的假设，M和P RGCs表达类特异性基因的发展不同的视觉功能，内在的生理特性和形态差异与这些不同的视觉通路。拟议的研究计划将通过增加我们对M和P通路形成机制的理解来开辟新的领域，这是灵长类动物视觉系统的一个显着特征。鉴于视网膜神经节细胞对视觉的核心重要性，我们必须了解在发育过程中指导其分化的机制，因为发育过程中的障碍是影响视力和视觉处理的几种疾病的基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): All visual information leaving the eye is conveyed in the activity of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). In humans and other animals with a highly developed visual system, RGCs belong to functionally distinct classes that respond selectively to different features in the visual environment. The objective of the proposed research program is to determine the prenatal maturation of RGCs in the macaque monkey and the mechanisms that contribute to M and P cell differentiation. We will focus on the two major classes of primate RGCs, the M and P classes. The proposed study involves three sets of experiments. The first major series of experiments (Specific Aim 1) will test the hypothesis that RGCs are responsive to visual stimuli before birth and the differentiation of cells with M-like and P-like response properties begins before birth. The second series of experiments (Specific Aim 2) will test the hypothesis that M and P RGCs express class-specific differences in their intrinsic membrane properties and these differences emerge before birth. Finally, the third series of experiments will test the hypothesis that M and P RGCs express class-specific genes related to the development of distinct visual function, intrinsic physiological properties and morphological differences associated with these distinct visual pathways. The proposed research program will break new ground by increasing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of the M and P pathways which are a distinguishing feature of the primate visual system. Given the central importance of retinal ganglion cells for vision, it is important that we understand the mechanisms that guide their differentiation during development, as disorders during development underlie several illnesses affecting vision and visual processing.