# The effects of sleep and iPRGCs on computations in the early visual system

> **NIH EY F32** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2026 · $78,040

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Vision is an important driver of our evolution and adaptation to different environments. It is a complex
process that begins with photoreceptor signal transduction in retinal circuitry before transmitting to central brain
targets to drive a range of image-forming visual functions, from color discrimination to navigation. Canonically,
studies on image forming vision in the retina and cortex have largely focused on rod and cone inputs that encode
pattered visual images. However, additional inputs that contribute to complex retinal and cortical computations
from melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (iPRGCs) or sleep are largely
unexplored. Therefore, there is a need to understand how multiplexed photoreceptor inputs mediate retinal and
cortical processes and how such responses are altered with sleep. I hypothesize that multiplexing of rod, cone,
and melanopsin input will allow cortical neurons to respond to visual stimuli with a large range of irradiance under
complex visual features like natural scenes, and that these processes will be modulated by sleep.
 My objectives are to measure melanopsin-specific retinal and cortical responses, use that information to
build a predictive computational model of the early visual system that incorporates multiplexed photoreceptor
inputs, and determine how sleep alters cortical computations for visual processing. I will begin by isolating and
measuring melanopsin-specific responses in the retina and cortex under natural scenes in Aim 1. Then, I will
record responses in the visual cortex under natural scenes at different points of circadian time-of-day and sleep
deprivation in Aim 2. By understanding a detailed quantitative description of how visual experience is
represented in the retina and visual cortex, we will better understand how and why vision loss occurs in diseases
and disorders that affect the early visual system. Furthermore, my work will contribute to the de

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11312636
- **Project number:** 5F32EY036275-03
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** David  Au
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** EY
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $78,040
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01T00:00:00 → 2027-03-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11312636

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11312636, The effects of sleep and iPRGCs on computations in the early visual system (5F32EY036275-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-20 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11312636. Licensed CC0.

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