Retinal Neural Processing During Retinal Degenerative Diseases

• Aim 1, we will record resting activity of identified retinal ganglion cells in mouse models of retinal degeneration to determine the synaptic mechanisms responsible for altered retinal output during progression of the disease.
• Aim 2, we will drive retinal circuits with presynaptic stimuli to determine the ability of ganglion cells to process synaptically-evoked responses. Since ganglion cells are the output neurons of the retina, their synaptic inputs reflect the functional state of the retinal circuits responsible for visual processing.

Identifying these changes could help to reduce the impact of retinal degeneration by providing new targets to repair or prevent retinal dysfunction.