Mechanisms of Retinal Coding for Global Image Movement: A Comparative Approach

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Josef Ammermüller
• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2006 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 18693849

Based on the facts that basic retinal wiring is phylogenetically conserved and that visual objects of the real world share most of their statistical properties, we will test the hypothesis that signal processing and coding in retinal ganglion cells is also conserved among species. As a behavioral test we will use the evolutionary highly conserved horizontal optokinetic reflex (hOKR) common to all vertebrates. Behavioral performance of the hOKR will be correlated with coding performance based on a broad spectrum of coding hypotheses applied to data from muIti-electrode recordings of retinal ganglion cell activity. Comparative experiments will be done with turtle, mouse, bird and fish, and will be supplemented with experiments using genetically modified animals to elucidate intra-retinal mechanisms of information processing. The three main questions to be studied are: Which aspects of the retinal ganglion cell responses initiate the hOKR? How are image features coded by retinal ganglion cell activity during the hOKR? Which retinal mechanisms contribute to these coding properties? Comparing the results from the different species and genetically manipulated animals will enable us to support or reject the hypothesis that coding and signal processing is conserved among species for this basic behavior.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 701: Dynamics and Stability of Retinal Processing
• Major Instrumentation: Multi-electrode recording Setup 128 channels
• Instrumentation Group: 5820 Elektronenvervielfacher
• Participating Persons: Professorin Dr. Jutta Kretzberg; Professor Dr. Henrik Mouritsen