Unit on Retinal Neurophysiology
This unit is led by Wei Li, Ph.D.
E-mail: liwei2@nei.nih.gov
Research Interests
Our unit studies the structure and function of retinal synapses and circuits. Although we know the basic structure and major cell types of the retina, it remains much of a "black box" in terms of the connections and functions of these neurons. Our long-term research goal is to understand how the neuronal circuits are wired in this "black box" under normal conditions and how the circuits are altered during pathological processes. Both pieces of information will be crucial for the design of biological and/or prosthetic interventions aiming to restore vision in many types of blindness caused by retinal degenerative diseases. We'll exploit a combination of anatomical and physiological approaches to study synaptic connectivity using in vitro slice and flat-mount preparations of the ground squirrel retina. This is an excellent model system to study the cone vision, as ground squirrel is one of the rare mammals whose retina is cone-dominated and resembles the fovea of human retina.
Selected Publications
- Li W, DeVries SH (2004) Separate blue and green cone networks in the mammalian retina. Nature Neuroscience 7:751-756. (cover)
- Li W, DeVries SH (2006) Bipolar cell pathways for color and luminance vision in a dichromatic mammalian retina. Nature Neuroscience 9:669-675. (cover)
- DeVries SH, Li W, Saszik SM (2006) Parallel processing in two transmitter microenvironments at the cone photoreceptor synapse. Neuron 50(5):735-748. (cover)
