Article
Neurosciences
Xiaolin Huang, Alan Jaehyun Kim, Hector Acaron Ledesma, Jennifer Ding, Robert G. Smith, Wei Wei
Summary: Experience-dependent modulation of neuronal responses is a key attribute in sensory processing. This study explores the dynamic adjustment of light responsiveness in On-Off direction-selective ganglion cells (DSGCs) of the mammalian retina. The results show that DSGCs can be transiently sensitized by prior stimuli, and this sensitization is found to be different in dorsal and ventral DSGCs. Visual stimulation to the dorsal retina potentiates an excitatory input from Off bipolar cells, leading to a tonic depolarization of dorsal DSGCs and sensitization of their On responses. In addition, the study identifies a previously overlooked feature of DSGC dendritic architecture that supports integration between On and Off dendritic layers.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Todd Stincic, Jacqueline Gayet-Primo, W. Rowland Taylor, Teresa Puthussery
Summary: The study shows that TARP gamma 2 is associated with AMPARs in the synaptic layers of the retina in different species. Lack of TARP gamma 2 expression in stargazer mice leads to reduced synaptic expression of GluA2, GluA3, and GluA4 and smaller light-evoked EPSCs in ON-SACs. This suggests that TARP gamma 2 is required for normal synaptic expression and function of AMPARs in the inner retina.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qiufen Jiang, Elizabeth Y. Litvina, Hector Acaron Ledesma, Guanhua Shu, Takuma Sonoda, Wei Wei, Chinfei Chen
Summary: In this study, the researchers investigated the connectivity between retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) in the mouse visual system. They found that only a small fraction of thalamocortical neurons in the dLGN received primary retinal input from specific subtypes of RGCs. The majority of the functionally identifiable inputs from these RGC subtypes were weak and converged with inputs from other RGC types.
Article
Biology
Jennifer Ding, Albert Chen, Janet Chung, Hector Acaron Ledesma, Mofei Wu, David M. Berson, Stephanie E. Palmer, Wei Wei
Summary: The study reveals that On-Off DSGCs have spatially displaced glutamatergic receptive fields, contributing to specific spiking responses during interrupted motion trajectories. Theoretical analysis suggests that under different stimulus conditions, On-Off DSGCs may collectively signal the spatial location of moving objects in complex visual environments, showcasing the utilization of separate mechanisms by the direction-selective circuit.
Article
Optics
Shuang Gao, Shui Ying Xiang, Zi Wei Song, Ya Nan Han, Yu Na Zhang, Yue Hao
Summary: This study proposes a photonic spiking neural network (SNN) approach for motion detection and direction recognition tasks, mimicking the visual nervous system. Simulation results validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method, providing theoretical support for the future large-scale application of hardware photonic SNN.
Article
Ophthalmology
Agustina Noailles, Oksana Kutsyr, Aloma Mayordomo-Febrer, Pedro Lax, Maria Lopez-Murcia, Silvia M. Sanz-Gonzalez, Maria Dolores Pinazo-Duran, Nicolas Cuenca
Summary: By studying a rat model of chronic glaucoma, it was found that intraocular injections of sodium hyaluronate result in increased intraocular pressure and changes in retinal morphology, similar to the characteristics of human open-angle glaucoma.
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Cheng Tang, Yuki Todo, Junkai Ji, Zheng Tang
Summary: The visual system is crucial for receiving and processing information in the brain, with motion detection being a vital component. By using direction selective ganglion cells, a novel mechanism for apparent motion detection has been proposed, showing biological similarities and accurate discrimination, which may lead to a deeper understanding of the visual nervous system.
KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Mianzhe Han, Yuki Todo, Zheng Tang
Summary: The study proposed a mechanism for motion direction detection based on Barlow's inhibitory scheme, showing good performance and high detection accuracy in experiments, outperforming traditional Convolution Neural Network (CNN) in terms of accuracy, calculation speed, and cost.
Article
Mathematics
Sichen Tao, Xiliang Zhang, Yuxiao Hua, Zheng Tang, Yuki Todo
Summary: In this paper, a complete quantified model is proposed to explain the retinal motion direction selection pathway and the global motion direction information acquisition mechanism from ganglion cells to the cortex. The experimental results demonstrate that this mechanism exhibits outstanding performance in motion direction detection and has biomimetic computing advantages.
Article
Developmental Biology
Natalie R. Hamilton, Andrew J. Scasny, Alex L. Kolodkin
Summary: Direction-selective (DS) circuits are evolutionarily conserved retinal circuits specialized for motion detection, forming precise connections through cellular, molecular, and activity-dependent mechanisms. These circuits regulate specific speeds and directions of motion in the retina, providing an ideal model system for studying neural connectivity development.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hsin-Wei Lu, Philip H. Smith, Philip X. Joris
Summary: Octopus cells in the mammalian cochlear nucleus are remarkable neurons that have fast membranes and wide-frequency tuning. They exhibit direction selectivity in response to frequency sweeps, which is not present in their auditory nerve inputs. The selectivity is achieved through the interaction between the activation sequence of auditory nerve inputs and intrinsic membrane conductances. This finding suggests that octopus cells are sequence detectors, sensitive to temporal patterns across different cochlear frequency channels.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pinghui Wei, Guoge Han, Meiqin He, Yan Wang
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the changes in retinal neurotransmitters and the role of the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) pathway in regulating myopic refractive state. The results showed that after forced occlusion for 4 weeks, dopamine (DA) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations decreased, while glutamate (Glu), 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT), and glycine concentrations increased, accompanied by an increase in myopic refraction and axial length (AL). Treating with D2R antagonist sulpiride increased glycine and DA levels, while decreasing 3-MT and Glu levels, accompanied by a decrease in myopic refraction and AL. The ratio of Glu to GABA (RGG) represents the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, and changes in RGG correlated with changes in AL.
ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ophthalmology
Michael D. Flood, Andrea J. Wellington, Erika D. Eggers
Summary: This study investigates the effects of dopamine receptor activation on retinal neuronal signaling in early diabetes. The results suggest that D4 receptor activation has a smaller impact on light-evoked excitatory inputs in diabetic retinas, potentially indicating disrupted cellular response to dopamine signaling in early diabetes.
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Nicole Y. Tsai, Fei Wang, Kenichi Toma, Chen Yin, Jun Takatoh, Emily L. Pai, Kongyan Wu, Angela C. Matcham, Luping Yin, Eric J. Dang, Denise K. Marciano, John L. Rubenstein, Fan Wang, Erik M. Ullian, Xin Duan
Summary: The authors introduce a circuit tracing method called Trans-Seq, which combines anterograde tracing and single-cell RNA sequencing to identify the targets of a specific neuron type. Using this approach, they discover a selective connection assembled by Nephronectin in the retinotectal synapses.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nickie Safarian, Sarah Houshangi-Tabrizi, Christiane Zoidl, Georg R. Zoidl
Summary: Panx1a and Panx1b are genes in zebrafish that play roles in the physiology of the visual system, with unique channel properties and tissue expression patterns. Panx1a modulates light decrement detection in the outer retina, while Panx1b's strategic localization in the inner retina affects visually evoked motor behavior. Loss of Panx1b channels disrupts retinal responses to changes in illumination and impairs larval locomotion in low light conditions, suggesting its involvement in motion detection and circadian clock regulation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Orsolya Kantor, Gergely Szarka, Zsigmond Benko, Zoltan Somogyvari, Emese Palfi, Gabor Baksa, Gergely Racz, Roland Nitschke, Gabor Debertin, Bela Volgyi
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2018)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Gergely Szarka, Alma Ganczer, Adam Tengolics, Boglarka Balogh, Bela Volgyi
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2019)
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
Bela Volgyi, Garrett T. Kenyon, David W. Marshak, Botir Sagdullaev
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Ildiko Telkes, Peter Kobor, Jozsef Orban, Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Bela Volgyi, Peter Buzas
BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adam Jonatan Tengolics, Gergely Szarka, Alma Ganczer, Edina Szabo-Meleg, Miklos Nyitrai, Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Bela Volgyi
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2019)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Elena Ivanova, Gergely Szarka, Adam J. Tengolics, Bela Volgyi, Botir T. Sagdullaev
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2020)
Article
Cell Biology
Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Gergely Szarka, Adam J. Tengolics, Alma Ganczer, Boglarka Balogh, Edina Szabo-Meleg, Miklos Nyitrai, Bela Voelgyi
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qin Wang, Seema Banerjee, Chunghim So, Chunting Qiu, Hang-I Christie Lam, Dennis Tse, Bela Volgyi, Feng Pan
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Bela Volgyi
Article
Cell Biology
Katalin Fusz, Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Peter Kobor, Edina Szabo-Meleg, Bela Volgyi, Peter Buzas, Ildiko Telkes
Summary: The study found regional differences in the distribution of connexin-36 in the retinas of different species, which affects the processing of visual input. There is a close correlation between the density of Prox1-immunoreactive amacrine cells and the density of Cx36-immunoreactive plaques, which may contribute to functional ON/OFF asymmetries in the retina.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Boglarka Balogh, Gergely Szarka, Adam J. Tengolics, Gyula Hoffmann, Bela Volgyi, Tamas Kovacs-Oller
Summary: The study found that exposure to LED light increased levels of major apoptosis-related markers and activated microglial cells and Caspase-3, suggesting that overuse of unfiltered direct LED light can have detrimental effects on human retina.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Alma Ganczer, Gergely Szarka, Marton Balogh, Gyula Hoffmann, Adam Jonatan Tengolics, Garrett Kenyon, Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Bela Volgyi
Summary: Retinal ganglion cells encrypt stimulus features of the visual scene in action potentials and convey them toward higher visual centers in the brain. Each subtype of RGC establishes a separate signaling route for a specific visual feature. The efficiency of encoding depends on several factors, and RGCs perform further analysis before generating the final output spike train. These specific kinetic features are essential for target postsynaptic neurons in the brain to effectively decode and interpret signals.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Bela Volgyi
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tamas Kovacs-Oller, Gergely Szarka, Gyula Hoffmann, Loretta Pentek, Greta Valentin, Liliana Ross, Bela Volgyi
Summary: Gap junctions and connexin proteins undergo major changes in degenerating retinal tissue. It is important to distinguish these adaptive changes from alterations following tissue deterioration.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Orsolya Kantor, Alexandra Varga, Roland Nitschke, Angela Naumann, Anna Enzsoely, Akos Lukats, Arnold Szabo, Janos Nemeth, Bela Voelgyi
BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
(2017)