Functional connectivity in the retina at the resolution of photoreceptors.
Abstract
To understand a neural circuit requires knowledge of its connectivity. Here we report
measurements of functional connectivity between the input and ouput layers of the
macaque retina at single-cell resolution and the implications of these for colour
vision. Multi-electrode technology was used to record simultaneously from complete
populations of the retinal ganglion cell types (midget, parasol and small bistratified)
that transmit high-resolution visual signals to the brain. Fine-grained visual stimulation
was used to identify the location, type and strength of the functional input of each
cone photoreceptor to each ganglion cell. The populations of ON and OFF midget and
parasol cells each sampled the complete population of long- and middle-wavelength-sensitive
cones. However, only OFF midget cells frequently received strong input from short-wavelength-sensitive
cones. ON and OFF midget cells showed a small non-random tendency to selectively sample
from either long- or middle-wavelength-sensitive cones to a degree not explained by
clumping in the cone mosaic. These measurements reveal computations in a neural circuit
at the elementary resolution of individual neurons.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Neural PathwaysRetinal Ganglion Cells
Animals
Macaca
Macaca fascicularis
Macaca mulatta
Photic Stimulation
Color Perception
Light
Color
Models, Neurological
Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells
Color Vision
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17861Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1038/nature09424Publication Info
Field, Greg D; Gauthier, Jeffrey L; Sher, Alexander; Greschner, Martin; Machado, Timothy
A; Jepson, Lauren H; ... Chichilnisky, EJ (2010). Functional connectivity in the retina at the resolution of photoreceptors. Nature, 467(7316). pp. 673-677. 10.1038/nature09424. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17861.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Greg D. Field
Associate Professor of Neurobiology
My laboratory studies how the retina processes visual scenes and transmits this information
to the brain. We use multi-electrode arrays to record the activity of hundreds of
retina neurons simultaneously in conjunction with transgenic mouse lines and chemogenetics
to manipulate neural circuit function. We are interested in three major areas. First,
we work to understand how neurons in the retina are functionally connected. Second
we are studying how light-adaptation and circadian rhythms a

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