RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Transgenic Mice Reveal Unexpected Diversity of On-Off Direction-Selective Retinal Ganglion Cell Subtypes and Brain Structures Involved in Motion Processing
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 8760
OP 8769
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0564-11.2011
VO 31
IS 24
A1 Michal Rivlin-Etzion
A1 Kaili Zhou
A1 Wei Wei
A1 Justin Elstrott
A1 Phong L. Nguyen
A1 Ben A. Barres
A1 Andrew D. Huberman
A1 Marla B. Feller
YR 2011
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/24/8760.abstract
AB On-Off direction-selective retinal ganglion cells (DSGCs) encode the axis of visual motion. They respond strongly to an object moving in a preferred direction and weakly to an object moving in the opposite, “null,” direction. Historically, On-Off DSGCs were classified into four subtypes according to their directional preference (anterior, posterior, superior, or inferior). Here, we compare two genetically identified populations of On-Off DSGCs: dopamine receptor 4 (DRD4)-DSGCs and thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor (TRHR)-DSGCs. We find that although both populations are tuned for posterior motion, they can be distinguished by a variety of physiological and anatomical criteria. First, the directional tuning of TRHR-DSGCs is broader than that of DRD4-DSGCs. Second, whereas both populations project similarly to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, they project differently to the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus and the superior colliculus. Moreover, TRHR-DSGCs, but not DRD4-DSGCs, also project to the zona incerta, a thalamic area not previously known to receive direction-tuned visual information. Our findings reveal unexpected diversity among mouse On-Off DSGC subtypes that uniquely process and convey image motion to the brain.