Dissecting the functional anatomy of the visual system: a new way forward

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

How do neural circuits guide our behavior? The answers promise to[unreadable] revolutionize our understanding of what it means to be human and how to repair the[unreadable] damaged neural circuits that underlie human neurological and psychiatric disorders.[unreadable] The incredible complexity of the mammalian brain, however, coupled with limited ability[unreadable] to genetically manipulate specific neural circuits in vertebrates, has made our progress[unreadable] difficult. My lab is developing new approaches that will rejuvenate this effort. We take[unreadable] advantage of the fact that many basic neural computations are evolutionarily ancient:[unreadable] invertebrates are capable of some of the same computations that humans are. This[unreadable] enables us to study processes familiar to vertebrate physiologists using the fruit fly, an[unreadable] animal with a relatively simple, genetically hard-wired nervous system. As a model[unreadable] genetic system, Drosophila offers a complex, interesting behavioral repertoire combined[unreadable] with an extensive toolkit for both forward and reverse genetic analysis. Our goal is to[unreadable] provide a complete mechanistic understanding of how visual information is processed at[unreadable] the level of identified cells and circuits. In preliminary work, we have developed new[unreadable] behavioral paradigms that allow high-throughput, automated forward genetic screens to[unreadable] identify neurons specifically involved in such processes as motion detection and color[unreadable] perception. To define the behavioral contributions of these functionally important[unreadable] neurons, we are adapting analytical techniques from ion channel biophysics and[unreadable] systems neuroscience to the analysis of fly behavior. Using new molecular and[unreadable] electrophysiological techniques that we will develop, we propose to link circuit anatomy[unreadable] to circuit function, and to define how changes in the activities of functionally important[unreadable] neurons lead to behavioral decisions. These studies will provide the first synthesis[unreadable] linking a sensory input to a behavioral output, through the functions of specific[unreadable] molecules, neurons and circuits. [unreadable]