# Measuring retinal ganglion cell spike responses in the intact perfused eye following optic nerve injury

> **NIH NIH R21** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $224,300

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Injuries to the optic nerve damage or sever the axons of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), leading to vision loss that
is currently irreversible. While optic nerve regeneration in a major research area, little is known about the early
functional changes to RGCs that precede cell death. Strategies to restore vision, as well as improved diagnostics,
require more detailed information about the time course of changes in RGC spike responses after optic nerve
injury.
I propose to address this knowledge gap by developing a new preparation of the intact mouse eye and its
supporting vasculature. We are working to adapt an isolated, perfused eye preparation that has been published
in larger eyes, into the mouse while simultaneously using high-density electrodes to record spikes from the optic
nerve. Aim 1 will validate the successful functional identification of RGCs using opto-tagging. Aim 2 will measure
the time course of dysfunction in identified RGCs following optic nerve cut while experimentally varying the
location of the cut along the nerve.
The successful completion of this project will establish a new preparation with advantages over existing
preparations for studies of the earliest RGC dysfunction in retinal disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10868853
- **Project number:** 1R21EY036157-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory William Schwartz
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $224,300
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10868853

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10868853, Measuring retinal ganglion cell spike responses in the intact perfused eye following optic nerve injury (1R21EY036157-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10868853. Licensed CC0.

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