Mapping the Spatial Distribution Patterns of OFF Bipolar Cells in the Mouse Retina
Faculty Mentor Information
Peter Fuerst
Presentation Date
7-2017
Abstract
The eye is a crucial sensory organ. For example, vision allows us to observe our environment and recognize dangerous situations, obtain and distinguish food, pursue certain tasks with ease and aides us in social interactions. Because of this, damage and diseases that impact the eye causes difficulties in day to day activities. Common blinding diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma remain significant challenges for the biomedical community. Studying how these diseases initiate and progress, as well as the basic biology of the eye, are key goals of vision research. An important unmet need in the vision research community is an understanding of how information flows from the photoreceptors that detect light to the cells that transmit this information to the brain. Surprisingly this has not been documented in the mouse, the most common animal model for vision research. We have been in the process of mapping the density distributions of bipolar cells, the cells that carry information from the photoreceptors to the output cells of the eye. This more complete understanding of retinal function will help us to understand why diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration target certain parts of the eye before others.
Mapping the Spatial Distribution Patterns of OFF Bipolar Cells in the Mouse Retina
The eye is a crucial sensory organ. For example, vision allows us to observe our environment and recognize dangerous situations, obtain and distinguish food, pursue certain tasks with ease and aides us in social interactions. Because of this, damage and diseases that impact the eye causes difficulties in day to day activities. Common blinding diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma remain significant challenges for the biomedical community. Studying how these diseases initiate and progress, as well as the basic biology of the eye, are key goals of vision research. An important unmet need in the vision research community is an understanding of how information flows from the photoreceptors that detect light to the cells that transmit this information to the brain. Surprisingly this has not been documented in the mouse, the most common animal model for vision research. We have been in the process of mapping the density distributions of bipolar cells, the cells that carry information from the photoreceptors to the output cells of the eye. This more complete understanding of retinal function will help us to understand why diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration target certain parts of the eye before others.