Function, diversity, and circuitry of parallel retinal ganglion cell pathways

这项研究的目的是了解视网膜如何有助于运动处理中， 背侧视觉通路视网膜内的神经回路提取视觉信息并发送 信息通过视网膜神经节细胞的轴突传递到视丘，随后传递到 皮层我们对大脑皮层中执行运动计算的神经通路了解很多， 关于视网膜如何参与这一通路的研究知之甚少。该研究将进一步 我们对视网膜如何促进运动处理的理解， 对神经计算有贡献。 我们的第一个目标将直接确定运动检测是否发生在视网膜和神经系统中。 调节这些计算的机制。 我们的第二个目标将揭示视网膜中发生的运动计算的类型，以及 和抑制性突触回路塑造了这些计算。 我们的第三个目标将直接测试我们对内部视网膜电路的机械理解， 评估由直接测量产生的突触模型准确预测 对自然运动的反应。 如果成功，这项研究将提供一些重要的贡献。首先，它将增加我们的 了解行为学相关信息如何在并行神经回路中编码- a 系统神经科学的基本目标。第二，它将解释兴奋性和抑制性神经元是如何 网络对信息流有不同的形状，并有助于神经计算。最后这些 研究结果将立即适用于正在进行的视网膜假体和其他 旨在恢复盲人视觉功能的技术。

The goal of this research is to understanding how the retina contributes to motion processing in the dorsal visual pathway. The neural circuitry within the retina extracts visual information and sends that information through the axons of retinal ganglion cells to the visual thalamus and, subsequently, to the cortex. Much is known about the neural pathways that perform motion computations in the cortex, but far less is known about how the retina contributes to this pathway. The proposed research will further our understanding of how the retina contributes to motion processing and the mechanisms that contribute to this neural computation. Our first aim will directly determine whether motion detection occurs in the retina and the neural mechanisms that mediate these computations. Our second aim will reveal the types of motion computations occurring in the retina and how excitatory and inhibitory synaptic circuitries shape these computations. Our third aim will directly test our mechanistic understanding of the circuitry of the inner retina by evaluating the ability of synaptic models, generated from direct measurement, to accurately predict responses to natural motion. If successful, this research will provide several significant contributions. First, it will increase our understanding about how ethologically relevant information is encoded in parallel neural circuits - a fundamental goal of systems neuroscience. Second, it will explain how excitatory and inhibitory neural networks differentially shape information flow and contribute to neural computations. Finally, these findings will be applicable immediately to ongoing development of retinal prostheses and other techniques designed to restore visual function in blind humans.