Immature retinal neurons spontaneously generate correlated activity in the form of waves of action potentials that sweep across the retinal ganglion cell layer. These retinal waves occur during the developmental period when functional circuits within the retina are emerging and retinal projections to the brain are undergoing a tremendous amount of refinement. Though significant progress in elucidating the circuits that mediate these waves has been achieved, the mechanisms that underlie the reliable generation of retinal waves is not fully understood. Here we explore the circuits that robustly generate retinal waves. Retinal waves are mediated by different circuits at different stages of development. In the first postnatal week, a circuit consisting of cholinergic interneurons, called starburst amacrine cells (SACs), mediates waves. During the second postnatal week, glutamatergic interneurons called bipolar cells mediate waves. Although cholinergic and glutamatergic waves are mediated by distinct circuits, they share one characteristic: the depolarization propagates across cells that do not have direct synaptic connections. Using two-photon calcium imaging and state-of-art optical sensors that measure[?] extrasynaptic release of ACh and glutamate, we will test the hypothesis that these waves propagate via volume transmission. In addition, we will study the influence of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) on retinal waves. While ipRGCs do modulate waves in WT mice, they more dramatically modulate the compensatory waves found in knockout mice lacking the ?2 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (?2KO). ?2KO mice exhibit significantly different patterns of spontaneous activity than WT mice, and therefore have served as a primary model system for understanding the role of retinal waves in visual system development. We propose using multielectrode and targeted recordings from WT and ?2KO mice expressing GFP in ipRGCs to explore the novel hypothesis that ipRGCs regulate firing patterns in the developing retina by altering the dopamine level. This work will address the principles of general organization that are responsible for generating the activity patterns that drive activity-dependent developmental processes. It should also elucidate the principles that govern the normal development of the human nervous system, thus making it possible to understand the origin of neurological birth defects and to devise strategies that enable the nervous system to regenerate functioning neural circuits after injury.

Public Health Relevance

Retinal waves are highly correlated spontaneous firing patterns detected in the developing retina prior to maturation of visual responses and they are critical source of activity to drive the refinement of connections throughout the developing visual system. Retinal waves are a robust phenomenon detected in many vertebrate species and persisting through the changing circuits of the developing retina. Our work will determine what the features of developing retinal circuits that are responsible for this robustness. Developing a detailed understanding of the organizing principles that govern the normal development of the circuits may make it possible to understand the origin of neurological birth defects.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY013528-13
Application #
8444412
Study Section
Neurotransporters, Receptors, and Calcium Signaling Study Section (NTRC)
Program Officer
Greenwell, Thomas
Project Start
2001-07-01
Project End
2017-03-31
Budget Start
2013-04-01
Budget End
2014-03-31
Support Year
13
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$349,002
Indirect Cost
$111,502
Name
University of California Berkeley
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
124726725
City
Berkeley
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94704
Tiriac, Alexandre; Smith, Benjamin E; Feller, Marla B (2018) Light Prior to Eye Opening Promotes Retinal Waves and Eye-Specific Segregation. Neuron 100:1059-1065.e4
Marques, Tiago; Summers, Mathew T; Fioreze, Gabriela et al. (2018) A Role for Mouse Primary Visual Cortex in Motion Perception. Curr Biol 28:1703-1713.e6
Morrie, Ryan D; Feller, Marla B (2018) A Dense Starburst Plexus Is Critical for Generating Direction Selectivity. Curr Biol 28:1204-1212.e5
Arroyo, David A; Feller, Marla B (2016) Spatiotemporal Features of Retinal Waves Instruct the Wiring of the Visual Circuitry. Front Neural Circuits 10:54
Bos, RĂ©mi; Gainer, Christian; Feller, Marla B (2016) Role for Visual Experience in the Development of Direction-Selective Circuits. Curr Biol 26:1367-75
Rosa, Juliana M; Morrie, Ryan D; Baertsch, Hans C et al. (2016) Contributions of Rod and Cone Pathways to Retinal Direction Selectivity Through Development. J Neurosci 36:9683-95
Vlasits, Anna L; Morrie, Ryan D; Tran-Van-Minh, Alexandra et al. (2016) A Role for Synaptic Input Distribution in a Dendritic Computation of Motion Direction in the Retina. Neuron 89:1317-1330
Morrie, Ryan D; Feller, Marla B (2016) Development of synaptic connectivity in the retinal direction selective circuit. Curr Opin Neurobiol 40:45-52
Arroyo, David A; Kirkby, Lowry A; Feller, Marla B (2016) Retinal Waves Modulate an Intraretinal Circuit of Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells. J Neurosci 36:6892-905
Morrie, Ryan D; Feller, Marla B (2015) An Asymmetric Increase in Inhibitory Synapse Number Underlies the Development of a Direction Selective Circuit in the Retina. J Neurosci 35:9281-6

Showing the most recent 10 out of 54 publications