# Dissecting Neural Circuit Computations in the Peripheral Visual System

> **NIH NIH R01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $380,725

## Abstract

Project Summary
 R01 EY022638
Dissecting neural circuit computations in the peripheral visual system
 PI: Thomas R. Clandinin
 Vision provides critical sensory inputs that guide our routine behaviors; as a result, blindness
represents perhaps the most devastating deprivation we can experience. To connect perception to action in
this context, complex visual scenes must be efficiently represented in the neural activities of relatively small
groups of cells; from these signals, particularly salient cues are extracted, integrated with behavioral goals, and
linked to the appropriate responses. These neural processes can be broken down into the individual actions of
relatively simple microcircuits, small groups of neurons that perform elementary operations that are widespread
in the brain, but which subserve distinct purposes in different contexts. This proposal develops the Drosophila
visual system as a model in which the functions of these microcircuits can be dissected at the molecular,
cellular and behavioral level, and combines techniques drawn from genetics and systems neuroscience to
derive new understanding.
 This proposal focuses on three computations that are central to vision. First, one fundamental circuit
process in the visual system transforms the intensity of a light signal into an estimate of contrast, the change in
light level relative to a previous intensity. This transformation corresponds to taking the mathematical derivative
of an input, an operation that is performed in many circuits, but one whose circuit and molecular
implementation is unknown. The first goal of this proposal is to determine how this operation is implemented at
the circuit and molecular level. Second, the ability to detect motion is probably the most critical visual signal
extracted by the brain, providing information central to guiding movement and navigation. The emergence of
this direction-selectivity in the brain represents a long-standing, paradigmatic neural computation with rich
theoretical underpinnings. However, the circuit and molecular implementations of these theories are only
incompletely understood. The second goal of this proposal is to identify and dissect the microcircuits that first
extract motion signals. Third, the tuning of visual neurons for oriented edges is central to representing the
spatial structure of the world. Again, the mechanisms that allow neurons to become tuned for these features
are only incompletely understood. The third goal of this proposal is to determine the structure and functional
architecture of orientation selective circuitry.
 These studies will broadly inform our understanding of retinal function in health and disease. As the
development of retinal prostheses that directly stimulate specific circuit elements represents an important
treatment possibility for blindness, understanding how these circuits can encode behaviorally-relevant visual
information represents a important goal.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10183257
- **Project number:** 5R01EY022638-09
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas Robert Clandinin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $380,725
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-08-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10183257

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10183257, Dissecting Neural Circuit Computations in the Peripheral Visual System (5R01EY022638-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10183257. Licensed CC0.

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