RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Genetic Dissection of Retinal Inputs to Brainstem Nuclei Controlling Image Stabilization
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 17797
OP 17813
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2778-13.2013
VO 33
IS 45
A1 Onkar S. Dhande
A1 Maureen E. Estevez
A1 Lauren E. Quattrochi
A1 Rana N. El-Danaf
A1 Phong L. Nguyen
A1 David M. Berson
A1 Andrew D. Huberman
YR 2013
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/45/17797.abstract
AB When the head rotates, the image of the visual world slips across the retina. A dedicated set of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and brainstem visual nuclei termed the “accessory optic system” (AOS) generate slip-compensating eye movements that stabilize visual images on the retina and improve visual performance. Which types of RGCs project to each of the various AOS nuclei remain unresolved. Here we report a new transgenic mouse line, Hoxd10–GFP, in which the RGCs projecting to all the AOS nuclei are fluorescently labeled. Electrophysiological recordings of Hoxd10–GFP RGCs revealed that they include all three subtypes of On direction-selective RGCs (On–DSGCs), responding to upward, downward, or forward motion. Hoxd10–GFP RGCs also include one subtype of On–Off DSGCs tuned for forward motion. Retrograde circuit mapping with modified rabies viruses revealed that the On–DSGCs project to the brainstem centers involved in both horizontal and vertical retinal slip compensation. In contrast, the On–Off DSGCs labeled in Hoxd10–GFP mice projected to AOS nuclei controlling horizontal but not vertical image stabilization. Moreover, the forward tuned On–Off DSGCs appear physiologically and molecularly distinct from all previously genetically identified On–Off DSGCs. These data begin to clarify the cell types and circuits underlying image stabilization during self-motion, and they support an unexpected diversity of DSGC subtypes.