The retina detects light, processes the visual signal, and sends a complex set of parallel information channels to the brain via a functionally diverse set of retinal ganglion cells types. This manuscript examines these retinal ganglion cell types, the visual features they encode, and the computational mechanisms leading to their unique feature encoding. Using single-cell electrophysiology, we find that expression of specific genes labels unique sets of functionally identified retinal ganglion cell types. When examining selectivity for the visual feature of object motion across all retinal ganglion cell types, we find a spectrum of selectivity which can be predicted by their degree of nonlinear surround suppression. Finally, using single-cell electrophysiology, serial block-face scanning electron microscopy, pharmacological manipulation, and computational modeling, we show that two retinal ganglion cell types exhibit very different levels of surround suppression even though they receive input from the same set of bipolar cell types. This divergence of the bipolar cell signal occurs through synapse-specific regulation by amacrine cells at the scale of tens of microns. These findings highlight new methods of studying parallel processing in the retina and uncover novel mechanisms of visual processing that enable the high degree of parallel processing observed in the retina.

Creator

• Swygart, David Isaiah

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-2z5h-e380

Subject

• Ophthalmology
• Neurosciences

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• etdadmin_upload_962145
• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:16411

Keyword

• electrophysiology
• computational
• signal processing
• Bipolar cell
• Retina
• ganglion cell

Date created

• 2023-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright