MEL-ROD · MELANOPSIN CONTRIBUTION TO PATTERNS DISCIRMINATION IN DIURNAL AND NOCTURNAL RODENTS
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-09-02 → 2022-09-01
- EU contribution
- €224,934
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
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Results in brief
MELANOPSIN CONTRIBUTION TO PATTERNS DISCIRMINATION IN DIURNAL AND NOCTURNAL RODENTS
The main goal of the project ‘Melanopsin contribution to patterns discrimination in diurnal and nocturnal rodents’ (MEL-ROD) was to compare different aspects of visual and circadian systems between nocturnal and diurnal animals with the emphasis put on melanopsin contribution to their functioning. Most of our knowledge about image and non-image forming vision comes from studies performed on mice and rats, which are nocturnal animals and its direct translation to humans is difficult, if not impossible. Thus, to better understand how vision and circadian clock work, we decided to use a diurnal murid rodent closely related to mouse called Rhabdomys pumilio or four-stripped African mouse. By using R. pumilio as an experimental animal we were aiming to fill the gap in our understanding of day-time vision and mechanisms behind day-night changes in neuronal activity. It is an important project for a society as it provides a more complete view on the visual and circadian systems across different ecological types of rodents and enables more straightforward comparison with humane vision. The specific scientific objectives of the MEL-ROD project were: 1) to compare the characteristic of the ‘melanopic image’ between nocturnal, diurnal and melanopsin knockout animals, 2) to compare different aspects of vison such as colour, contrast, etc. between nocturnal mouse and diurnal R. pumilio but also to answer the question how does diurnality influence the way the biological clock responds to different visual stimuli and 3) to develop a method allowing simultaneous neuronal brain activity recordings and 3D tracking of freely moving animals performing different visual tasks. Additionally, MEL-ROD aimed at providing sufficient training activities that will enable MSCA Fellow to develop technical, scientific, and transferable skills in order to become an independent scientist.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Three types of retinal photoreceptors are responsible for light detection: rods, cones and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) containing melanopsin. Until recently, it was universally assumed that daytime vision originates with cones, dim light vision with rods, leaving ipRGCs to drive sub-conscious reflex responses to changes in ambient light (e.g. circadian photoentraiment). However, very recent data from mice has revolutionized vision science by showing that melanopsin can also provide the brain with information about the spatial patterns during the day, complementing the activity of cones in the representation of larger amplitude and coarser patterns in brightness. The proposed project is aimed to determine how melanopsin and cones work together to create images in nocturnal mice and in a diurnal murid (Rhabdomys) with strong cone-based daytime vision, respectively. We will take advantage of technological edge in multi-primary visual display (mVDU) design that allows, for the first time, patterns visible only to melanopsin to be generated. We will apply the mVDU technology to in vivo multi-unit electrophysiological recordings from the visual thalamus (the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus) and behavioural experiments on melanopsin sufficient and deficient mice created by optogenetical manipulation of ipRGCs. We hypothesize that there will be significant differences in the melanopsin contribution to pattern discrimination between chosen night and day active animals due to the difference in their retinal structure (rod-cone ratio). We believe that the proposed research will contribute to better understanding of the visual system and lead to a step change in performance of image capture and display technologies by adjusting their design to take account of melanopsin. The applicant will benefit from the project with new skills, knowledge and the experience to launch her own research group in the future.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER · ManchesterCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union