# The role of plasticity in loss of vision caused by retinitis pigmentosa

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE · 2024 · $463,927

## Abstract

Abstract
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most common group of inherited retinal disorders associated with progressive
loss of vision. RP is typically diagnosed in adulthood following the onset of night blindness and impaired
peripheral vision. Longitudinal studies of patients with RP reveal that their loss of visual acuity is significantly
slower than the deterioration of their photoreceptor function. How the visual system sustains acuity despite the
progressive loss of photoreceptors is unclear.
Our hypothesis is that flexibility within the circuits of the visual system engage with the progressive loss of visual
output to impair acuity. We will test our hypothesis by first characterizing the deficit in acuity and related functional
characteristics in visual cortex and retina in using the rhodopsin P23H/+ (rho P23H/+) mutant mouse model.
These mice have similar declines in retinal function and are a good model of human RP. Then we will evaluate
whether enhancing or reducing experience-dependent plasticity affects the trajectory of the progressive loss of
vision of rho P23H/+ mice by then characterizing the deficit in acuity and related functional characteristics in
visual cortex and retina in using the rhodopsin P23H/+ (rho P23H/+) mutant mice that also lack a gene that limits
plasticity in adult visual circuitry (nogo-66 receptor, ngr1) or that is required for visual plasticity (activity-regulated
cytoskeleton-associated protein, ARC). Mice lacking ngr1 (ngr1 -/-) display greater visual plasticity than adult
wild-type mice while mice lacking ARC (ARC -/-) exhibit reduced visual plasticity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10826270
- **Project number:** 1R01EY035885-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
- **Principal Investigator:** Maureen A McCall
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $463,927
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-01-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10826270

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10826270, The role of plasticity in loss of vision caused by retinitis pigmentosa (1R01EY035885-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10826270. Licensed CC0.

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