R01EY031467

High resolution mapping of foveal ganglion cell receptive fields in the living primate eye - The importance for vision of the tiny fovea has been established by centuries of investigation as well as observations of the devastating consequences of its damage through injury or disease.

Though evidence suggests that the fovea contains the full complement of the two dozen or so classes of ganglion cells found in peripheral retina, we know little about the physiology of these foveal cells. This gap in our understanding is the result of challenges in obtaining electrophysiological recordings from this delicate and topographically-complex structure.

These challenges have been overcome by a method developed in our laboratory that allows simultaneous calcium imaging of the fluorescence responses of hundreds of foveal retinal ganglion cells in response to visual stimuli. Because this technique allows recording from single cells without damage in the living eye, we can study the same cells for months or even years, offering the opportunity to characterize the performance of each cell more thoroughly than has been possible with any prior method.

Since the first submission of the proposal, we have made significant improvements in the expression of calcium indicator, GCaMP6s, in ganglion cells that increases the extent of expression to greater eccentricities, the fluorescence signal from each cell, as well as reducing the loss of ganglion cells over time. Moreover, we have designed a new ophthalmoscope with two independent adaptive optics systems, one dedicated to high resolution stimulus delivery and a second dedicated to high resolution ganglion cell recording.

We have also developed an extensive battery of visual stimuli to characterize the responses of each cell in space, time, and color. This battery will include a white noise stimulus capable of identifying the locations and classes of single cone inputs to the receptive fields of foveal ganglion cells. To assist in cell classification, these physiological observations will be supplemented with ex vivo and in vivo histological analysis of the morphology of ganglion cell dendritic arbors.

Armed with these improvements, we will undertake a comprehensive survey of both the physiology and anatomy of the foveal ganglion cell classes that mediate primate foveal vision.

University Of Rochester

<P>THE GOALS ARE:</P><UL><LI>TO FOSTER FUNDAMENTAL CREATIVE DISCOVERIES, INNOVATIVE RESEARCH STRATEGIES, AND THEIR APPLICATIONS AS A BASIS FOR ULTIMATELY PROTECTING AND IMPROVING HEALTH;</LI><LI>TO DEVELOP, MAINTAIN, AND RENEW SCIENTIFIC HUMAN AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES THAT WILL ENSURE THE NATION'S CAPABILITY TO PREVENT DISEASE;</LI><LI>TO EXPAND THE KNOWLEDGE BASE IN MEDICAL AND ASSOCIATED SCIENCES IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THE NATION'S ECONOMIC WELL-BEING AND ENSURE A CONTINUED HIGH RETURN ON THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH; AND</LI><LI>TO EXEMPLIFY AND PROMOTE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY, PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONDUCT OF SCIENCE.</LI></UL><P>IN REALIZING THESE GOALS, THE NIH PROVIDES LEADERSHIP AND DIRECTION TO PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF THE NATION BY CONDUCTING AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH:</P><UL><LI>IN THE CAUSES, DIAGNOSIS, PREVENTION, AND CURE OF HUMAN DISEASES;</LI><LI>IN THE PROCESSES OF HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT;</LI><LI>IN THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS;</LI><LI>IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF MENTAL, ADDICTIVE AND PHYSICAL DISORDERS; AND</LI><LI>IN DIRECTING PROGRAMS FOR THE COLLECTION, DISSEMINATION, AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION IN MEDICINE AND HEALTH, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT OF MEDICAL LIBRARIES AND THE TRAINING OF MEDICAL LIBRARIANS AND OTHER HEALTH INFORMATION SPECIALISTS.</LI></UL>

93.867 - Vision Research

National Eye Institute (NEI) [HHS - NIH]

Rochester, New York 146113847 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-25-301)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 11/30/25 to 03/31/30 and the total obligations have increased 466% from $613,060 to $3,472,846.