This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Total blindness due to a lesion in the eye or optic nerve is a debilitating condition that affects a large number of people worldwide and for which there is of yet no cure.The prevalence of blindness in the United States is about 1.1 million, and world wide it affects about 45 million people. Electrical impulses (containing bits of visual information) in the retina are carried from photoreceptor cells via the optic nerve to the brain, where a picture is assembled. Severe disruption of any part of this pathway by disease or trauma leads to blindness. Whereas pathologic phenomenon in the visual cortex are responsible for blindness, these comprise a small percentage of the total cases. Most cases are subcortical and peripheral , including the eye, optic nerve, tracts and related structures. For example Cataract, trachoma and glaucoma are responsible for more than 70 % of the global blindness. The visual cortex is spared and functional in a majority of the blind. It can be postulated that if the visual cortex is reasonably functional it may be possible to stimulate the cortex directly to elicit the sensation of vision.
This aim of this study is to evaluate the ability to elicit electrophysiological responses in visual cortex by direct cortical stimulation using a non invasive approach. Current approaches employ intrusive mechanical electrodes that would have limited potential for clinical application. Laser stimulation of neurons (cells absorbing laser stimulation resulting in minimal damage to the neuron) to create action potentials in the nervous system has fewer risks than other procedures since surgery is not performed on the patient. The objective of this study is to create neural responses from areas of the mouse visual cortex through the application of optical stimulation, which may, in the long run, lead to the transmission of neuro-electrical signals once again, and consequently bring vision to those who have seemingly lost the phenomenon of sight.
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