The long-term goal of the work undertaken in the P.l.'s laboratory is to understand how retinal ganglion cells participate in vision. The goal of the work proposed in this application is to model how two types of ganglion cell - X and Y cells (Enroth-Cugell & Robson, 1966) - participate in the representation of visual images. X and Y cells form the vast majority of cat ganglion cells with center-surround receptive fields and are a major component of the retinogeniculate pathway. This is the first part of the principal visual pathway in higher mammals including humans. At the level of the ganglion cells, there are fewer neurons to encode visual images than at any other level in the visual system. This economy of neuron number brings a penalty. Damage to retinal ganglion cells produces a large detrimental effect on visual function. In fact, many diseases of the retina (e.g., glaucoma) attack visual performance by the destruction of ganglion cells. Hence, an understanding of the role of retinal ganglion cells in vision is in general critical. Secondly, one of the most valuable diagnostic tools in the field of neuro-ophthalmology is the visual field test. There can be little question that the results of this project would find direct application in the improved design of perimeters and the interpretation of visual fields, leading to an improvement in patient care.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY006669-08
Application #
2160777
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Project Start
1986-08-01
Project End
2000-03-31
Budget Start
1996-04-01
Budget End
2000-03-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
1996
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Engineering (All Types)
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
City
Evanston
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60201
Troy, John B; Yrazu, Fernando M; Passaglia, Christopher L (2012) The uniqueness of the message in a retinal ganglion cell spike train and its implication for retinal prostheses. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2012:312-3
Passaglia, Christopher L; Freeman, Daniel K; Troy, John B (2009) Effects of remote stimulation on the modulated activity of cat retinal ganglion cells. J Neurosci 29:2467-76
Pinto, Lawrence H; Vitaterna, Martha H; Shimomura, Kazuhiro et al. (2007) Generation, identification and functional characterization of the nob4 mutation of Grm6 in the mouse. Vis Neurosci 24:111-23
Eglen, Stephen J; Diggle, Peter J; Troy, John B (2005) Homotypic constraints dominate positioning of on- and off-center beta retinal ganglion cells. Vis Neurosci 22:859-71
Troy, J B; Bohnsack, D L; Chen, J et al. (2005) Spatiotemporal integration of light by the cat X-cell center under photopic and scotopic conditions. Vis Neurosci 22:493-500
Qiao, Yi; Chen, Jie; Guo, Xiaoli et al. (2005) Fabrication of nanoelectrodes for neurophysiology: cathodic electrophoretic paint insulation and focused ion beam milling. Nanotechnology 16:1598-1602
Passaglia, Christopher L; Troy, John B (2004) Impact of noise on retinal coding of visual signals. J Neurophysiol 92:1023-33
Passaglia, Christopher L; Guo, Xiaoli; Chen, Jie et al. (2004) Tono-Pen XL calibration curves for cats, cows and sheep. Vet Ophthalmol 7:261-4
Passaglia, Christopher L; Troy, John B (2004) Information transmission rates of cat retinal ganglion cells. J Neurophysiol 91:1217-29
Troy, J B; Shou, T (2002) The receptive fields of cat retinal ganglion cells in physiological and pathological states: where we are after half a century of research. Prog Retin Eye Res 21:263-302

Showing the most recent 10 out of 22 publications