# Foveal ganglion cell function in the living eye

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2021 · $71,430

## Abstract

The fovea is a specialized region of the primate retina mediating color and high acuity visual perception.
Foveal vision is highly susceptible to disease and is the primary target for therapies aiming to restore vision in
the blind. However, our understanding of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the retinal output neurons that convey
the retinal image to the brain, lags behind techniques to restore vision because we do not yet understand the
full diversity of primate RGCs nor how they function in the fovea. Progress in these areas with conventional
retinal physiology approaches has been limited by the difficulties of studying the fragile and densely packed
fovea along with the challenges of reliably targeting rare RGCs in acute preparations. These obstacles can
now be overcome with Functional Adaptive-optics Calcium Imaging in the Living Eye (FACILE), a powerful new
technique enabling in vivo measurements of the light responses in hundreds of foveal RGCs expressing the
calcium indicator GCaMP6s. This non-invasive, all-optical approach, which was developed in the laboratories
of David Williams and William Merigan at the University of Rochester where my proposed postdoctoral training
will occur, provides the unprecedented opportunity to record from the same foveal RGCs for months or years,
allowing a more detailed characterization of the retinal output in the fovea than ever before. In Aim 1, I will
determine the functional diversity of RGCs serving foveal vision by developing a stimulus battery and analysis
pipeline to effectively and reliably classify the response properties of GCaMP6-expressing RGCs. In Aim Two, I
will label six of the rarest RGC types with retrograde tracer injections to the superior colliculus (SC), then
image their dendritic morphologies both in vivo and ex vivo. These results will create a detailed map of the
topography of the foveal input to the superior colliculus, an evolutionarily ancient pathway mediating
subconscious non-image-forming visual behaviors. The resulting map of rare GCaMP6-expressing RGCs will
accelerate the classification in Aim 1 as many SC-projecting RGCs have never been characterized functionally
and may have otherwise been lost in a region where midget RGCs make up over 90% of the retinal output.
This project will produce a population-level account of foveal midget RGC function in the living eye that will
guide progress in restoring visual perception. In addition, the insights gained into the diversity of foveal RGCs
and the visual information they convey to the brain may ultimately enable the restoration all visual function,
including the visually guided movements and reflexes mediated by rare SC-projecting RGCs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10137428
- **Project number:** 1F32EY032318-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara S Patterson
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $71,430
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-16 → 2023-06-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10137428

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10137428, Foveal ganglion cell function in the living eye (1F32EY032318-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10137428. Licensed CC0.

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