# Cell Type Specific Visual Processing in the Superior Colliculus

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2024 · $485,530

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 How visual information is processed and transformed in the nervous system is a fundamental question in
vision research. Given its clear importance in visually guided behaviors and the available tools, the mouse
superior colliculus holds great promise for understanding visual processing and its neural mechanisms. The
superior colliculus is a midbrain structure important for multimodal integration and sensorimotor transformation,
with its superficial layers receiving direct inputs from the retina. This proposal aims to study how different types
of neurons in the superficial superior colliculus (sSC) process visual information, especially in response to more
complicated and naturalistic stimuli. Aim 1 is to confirm that cerebellin 4 positive (Cbln4+) neurons are inhibitory
and direction selective and to characterize their morphology and synaptic connectivity. The activity of Cbln4+
neurons will then be manipulated to test the hypothesis that inhibitory neural circuits in the sSC mediate
contextual modulation in visual motion processing. Aim 2 is to reveal how sSC neurons respond to visual stimuli
in a virtual reality environment, with a focus on excitatory and inhibitory direction selective neurons and the wide
field vertical neurons which project to the pulvinar thalamic nucleus. Their responses will be studied using in vivo
2-photon Ca2+ imaging and compared between the “closed-loop” (where the animal’s running speed controls the
flow of visual scenes) and “open-loop” (where the visual flow is uncoupled from the animal’s locomotion)
configurations. These experiments will test the hypothesis that there is a cell-type-specific encoding of self-
generated visual flow in the sSC. Aim 3 is to determine whether there are neurons in the sSC that signal the
animal’s own locomotion. These non-visual neurons will be fully characterized, and their molecular identity
revealed. Finally, physiological recording will be performed to determine whether the sSC displays a depth-
specific and location-dependent organization in encoding the animal’s own locomotion and comparing between
predicted optic flow and actual visual motion. Together, these experiments will generate important data needed
for a complete understanding of visual processing in the brain. Because normal visual processing is
compromised in a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as dyslexia, schizophrenia, and autism
spectrum disorders, the proposed studies will provide novel insights for the understanding and treatment of these
disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10882507
- **Project number:** 2R01EY026286-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jianhua Cang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $485,530
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-12-01 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10882507

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10882507, Cell Type Specific Visual Processing in the Superior Colliculus (2R01EY026286-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10882507. Licensed CC0.

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