H2020Индивидуална стипендия2021–2023

ConeOpsinsToPercept · From photoreceptors to perception: linking visual pigment biophysics to the speed of vision.

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2021-04-01 → 2023-03-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 190 681 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Зрителните пигменти в ретината на мишки се анализират, за да се види как промени в техните молекули влияят върху скоростта на възприемане на цветовете. Това помага да се разбере как биологичните свойства на окото определят начина, по който виждаме света.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

From photoreceptors to perception: linking visual pigment biophysics to the speed of vision.

The journey of vision begins with the absorption of light particles by visual pigment molecules in our retinas’ photoreceptor cells. These pigments, each attuned to specific light colors like red, green, or blue, vary in their biophysical properties such as activation speed and duration post-photon absorption. This fellowship has explored how these properties influence photoreceptor responses to light and the subsequent neural signal processing, from circuits to behavior. We used mice with mutant cone visual pigments, differing in color sensitivity and activation/deactivation kinetics, kindly provided by Professor Edward Pugh (UC Davis, USA). By studying the light absorption properties of each of the mutant isoforms by means of a custom-made microspectrophotometer, we aimed to characterize how individual amino acid mutations can tune not only the color preference but also the activation and deactivation kinetics of visual pigments and of photoreceptor cells (Aim 1). By obtaining single-cell electrophysiological recordings from individual neurons we studied how biophysical properties of visual pigments constrain and determine neuronal computations at the level of the retina (Aim 2). Finally, to determine how biophysical properties of visual pigments constrain and determine visually guided behavior, we implemented two behavioral paradigms: the six-arm water maze previously utilized by the Ala-Laurila laboratory and a novel method to record pupillary light responses in freely behaving animals (Aim 3). This project helps us understand better the limitations and determinants of our human experience in the world. Humans are most dominantly guided by visual behavior. Understanding how our visual system filters and extracts information from the environment reveals some of the fundamental determinants of how we interact with the world.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Vision operates across a billion-fold range of light intensities from a moonless night to a sunny beach. One mechanism contributing to this outstanding performance is the division of labor between two types of light-sensitive receptor cells, rods and cones. In dim light, vision is mediated by slow but highly sensitive rods. In brighter light, cones mediate vision with fast signal kinetics but lower sensitivity. It has been hypothesized that this division of labor corresponds to a fundamental tradeoff between sensitivity and speed common to any (man-made or biological) sensory system. However, the precise nature of this trade-off has remained unresolved, partly because changes in light levels involve fundamental changes in the neural circuits that read out and process rod and cone signals. This research plan proposes to resolve the trade-off between sensitivity and speed end-to-end from photoreceptor signal kinetics to retinal output and to visually-guided behavior with the resolution of single amino acid mutations.To address this ambitious goal, I will contribute my expertise in cone physiology and a battery of genetically modified mice in which single amino acid mutagenesis speeds-up or slows-down cone responses. The Ala-Laurila laboratory will provide the expertise and infrastructure required to causally link opsin biophysics to photoreceptor signaling, photoreceptor signaling to neural processing by the retina, and neural processing to mouse behavior and human perception. This combination of technologies and expertise is unique. As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, this proposal will enable my dream of returning to Europe to take on my first academic faculty job. Professionally, it will empower me to bridge the skills acquired during my Ph.D. to an integrative approach in neuroscience, and will allow me to form my own niche in the international scientific community.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR · EspooКоординаторФинландия