# Unique physiological properties of novel ganglion cell types in primate retina

> **NIH NIH R01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $530,985

## Abstract

The long-term objective of this research is to understand visual signaling by the primate retina,
the most relevant model for human vision, and to exploit this knowledge in the treatment of
blindness. The goal of the proposed work is to determine how diverse retinal ganglion cell
(RGC) types in the retina signal visual information to the brain, and the mechanisms they use to
extract this information from the visual environment. We have identified two RGC types, ON and
OFF SM cells, that show high promise for understanding how cell type diversity contributes to
visual signaling in primates. We have shown that these cell types exhibit unusual spatial
properties and high stimulus selectivity, reminiscent of the unique visual computations carried
out by RGCs in other species. Based on these findings, our specific aims are to 1) Determine
the structure and anatomical substrate of the unique spatial computations performed by SM
cells; 2) Determine the cellular and synaptic mechanisms that underlie this spatial signaling as
well as the sparse firing of SM cells; and 3) Determine if the unique spatial structure and sparse
firing in SM cells underlie specialized computations that may subserve specific visual functions.
To approach these problems, we will collaboratively combine large-scale multi-electrode
recordings with intracellular recordings and high resolution anatomical identification of SM cells
in isolated macaque retina, a unique and powerful collection of methods ideally suited to the
task. At the conclusion of this work we expect to understand the visual computations performed
by SM cells and the mechanisms that mediate these computations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10200063
- **Project number:** 5R01EY029247-04
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** EDUARDO CHICHILNISKY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $530,985
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10200063

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10200063, Unique physiological properties of novel ganglion cell types in primate retina (5R01EY029247-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10200063. Licensed CC0.

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