Assistant Professor Benjamin Sivyer - Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, USA: "Retinal ganglion cells underlying non-image forming vision"
Speaker:
Assistant Professor Ben Sivyer
Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon, USA
Title: Retinal ganglion cells underlying non-image forming vision
The visual system is critical for navigation of the environment and underlies the detection and recognition of objects such as predators or prey, or the location of food. Many neurons in the retina however, underlie non-image forming vision such as image stabilization, pupil reflex, and homeostatic functions such as circadian entrainment and the regulation of body temperature. We use genetic approaches, confocal microscopy, multielectrode array recordings, and optogenetics to identify subtypes of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), a specialized class of photoreceptors that contain their own photopigment, melanopsin. We show a subtype of ipRGCs restricted to the dorsal retina that selectively projects to the supraoptic nucleus, a region involved in the release of oxytocin and vasopressin. These ipRGCs tile a dorsal region of the retina, forming a substrate for encoding ground luminance. Our results provide a framework for the functional diversity of ipRGCs in the retina and suggests non-image forming visual processing samples local regions of visual space to influence diverse behaviors.
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