MECHANISM OF VISUAL EXCITATION

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）：本项目的长期目标 工作是阐明生物物理和生化机制的基础上， 视觉刺激和适应。对视觉系统的深刻理解 当然，它本身是非常可取的，以了解它如何可能是 由于疾病和遗传缺陷而导致的不正常状态。在 此外，视觉系统可能是最容易接近的一个非常大的 在所有脊椎动物中发现的信号转导系统家族， 无脊椎动物;这些信号转导系统都是基于细胞表面 与GTP结合蛋白（G蛋白）偶联的受体。视觉 色素是这种G蛋白偶联的细胞表面受体的实例。的 因此，研究结果将对理解 气味、激素和神经递质信号。方法是使用两者 广泛的自然发生的视觉系统，不仅是 视紫红质/视杆细胞系统，但长波长视锥细胞系统，混合视杆/视锥细胞系统 像壁虎，非常短的波长锥系统，像人类的蓝锥， 无脊椎动物系统，如章鱼。调查人员试图了解 基于这些不同类别的视觉之间的相似性和差异 颜料。他们将重点讨论导致形成的事件， 视觉色素的活跃状态。它们将利用低温， 闪光诱导动力学，FTIR（傅里叶变换红外）光谱， 以及光诱导的光电流来研究视觉 颜料经历引导直至其活性状态。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the applicant's abstract): The long-term goal of this work is to elucidate the biophysical and biochemical mechanisms underlying visual excitation and adaptation. A deep understanding of the visual system itself is, of course, highly desirable in order to understand how it might be affected in abnormal states brought on by disease and genetic defects. In addition, the visual system is probably the most accessible of a very large family of signal transduction systems that are found in all vertebrates and invertebrates; these signal transduction systems are all based on cell surface receptors that are coupled to GTP binding proteins (G proteins). Visual pigments are examples of such G protein-coupled cell surface receptors. The findings will, therefore, have important ramifications to the understanding of odorant, hormone and neurotransmitter signaling. The approach is to use both the broad range of naturally-occurring visual systems, not only the rhodopsin/rod system, but long wavelength cone systems, mixed rod/cone systems like gecko, very short wavelength cone systems like human blue cone, and invertebrate systems such as octopus. The investigators seek to understand the similarities and differences between vision based on these distinct categories of pigments. They will focus on the events leading up to the formation of the active state of a visual pigment. They will utilize low temperature, flash-induced kinetics, FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopies as well as light-induced photocurrents to study the transformations that a visual pigment undergoes leading up to its active state.