PUBLICATION

Emergence of binocular functional properties in a monocular neural circuit

Authors
Ramdya, P., and Engert, F.
ID
ZDB-PUB-090123-20
Date
2008
Source
Nature Neuroscience   11(9): 1083-1090 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Engert, Florian
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acids
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Calcium/metabolism
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Functional Laterality/genetics
  • Functional Laterality/physiology*
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Larva
  • Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor/deficiency
  • Photic Stimulation/methods
  • Sensory Deprivation
  • Sensory Receptor Cells/classification
  • Sensory Receptor Cells/physiology*
  • Superior Colliculi/physiology*
  • Time Factors
  • Vision, Binocular/genetics
  • Vision, Binocular/physiology*
  • Visual Fields/genetics
  • Visual Fields/physiology*
  • Visual Pathways/physiology
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins/deficiency
PubMed
19160507 Full text @ Nat. Neurosci.
Abstract
Sensory circuits frequently integrate converging inputs while maintaining precise functional relationships between them. For example, in mammals with stereopsis, neurons at the first stages of binocular visual processing show a close alignment of receptive-field properties for each eye. Still, basic questions about the global wiring mechanisms that enable this functional alignment remain unanswered, including whether the addition of a second retinal input to an otherwise monocular neural circuit is sufficient for the emergence of these binocular properties. We addressed this question by inducing a de novo binocular retinal projection to the larval zebrafish optic tectum and examining recipient neuronal populations using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging. Notably, neurons in rewired tecta were predominantly binocular and showed matching direction selectivity for each eye. We found that a model based on local inhibitory circuitry that computes direction selectivity using the topographic structure of both retinal inputs can account for the emergence of this binocular feature.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping