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Genetic approaches to understanding visual circuit development, function and repair

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Air date: Monday, October 20, 2014, 12:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Views: Total views: 259 (27 Live, 232 On-demand)
Category: Neuroscience
Runtime: 01:00:36
Description: Neuroscience Seminar Series

All of Dr. Huberman lab's behaviors, thoughts and perceptions stem from the activity of neural circuits: highly precise sets of connections formed between specific types of neurons. The three major goals of their laboratory are to: 1) Understand the functional architecture of the neural circuits that enable them to see and respond to particular aspects of the visual environment; 2) Discover how those circuits achieve specificity of their connections during development; 3) Develop strategies to replenish functional visual circuits in response to injury or disease.

A cornerstone their work is the identification of genes that are selectively expressed by functionally specialized neurons in the eye and brain. This allows them to delineate the specific circuit connections made by those neurons and to monitor and manipulate their activity during perceptual and behavioral tasks. It also allows them to probe the genes used by those neurons during development to find and form connections with their appropriate synaptic partners. Extending from these studies of the healthy brain is the exciting opportunity to address whether the mechanisms that assemble functionally precise visual circuits during development can be reactivated in response to diseases that normally cause irreversible blindness, such as glaucoma. To that end, they are using molecular genetic approaches to preserve and re-wire damaged visual circuits, and then testing what sorts of visual perceptions and behaviors those circuits can support.
NLM Title: Genetic approaches to understanding visual circuit development, function, and repair / Andrew Huberman.
Author: Huberman, Andrew.
National Institutes of Health (U.S.),
Publisher:
Abstract: (CIT): All of Dr. Huberman lab's behaviors, thoughts and perceptions stem from the activity of neural circuits: highly precise sets of connections formed between specific types of neurons. The three major goals of their laboratory are to: 1) Understand the functional architecture of the neural circuits that enable them to see and respond to particular aspects of the visual environment; 2) Discover how those circuits achieve specificity of their connections during development; 3) Develop strategies to replenish functional visual circuits in response to injury or disease. A cornerstone their work is the identification of genes that are selectively expressed by functionally specialized neurons in the eye and brain. This allows them to delineate the specific circuit connections made by those neurons and to monitor and manipulate their activity during perceptual and behavioral tasks. It also allows them to probe the genes used by those neurons during development to find and form connections with their appropriate synaptic partners. Extending from these studies of the healthy brain is the exciting opportunity to address whether the mechanisms that assemble functionally precise visual circuits during development can be reactivated in response to diseases that normally cause irreversible blindness, such as glaucoma. To that end, they are using molecular genetic approaches to preserve and re-wire damaged visual circuits, and then testing what sorts of visual perceptions and behaviors those circuits can support.
Subjects: Visual Pathways--anatomy & histology
Visual Pathways--growth & development
Visual Pathways--physiology
Publication Types: Lecture
Webcast
 
NLM Classification: WW 103
NLM ID: 101645895
CIT Live ID: 14890
Permanent link: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=14890

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