Boynton Lecture: Wiring specificity and plasticity of the vertebrate retina.

Abstract

Vision relies on the output of the many functionally distinct and precisely wired circuits of the retina. Using transgenic techniques, imaging methods and electrophysiology, we seek to uncover the developmental mechanisms that help establish the wiring specificity of retinal circuits in vertebrates. Moreover, because injury or disease can cause rewiring after maturation, we are also reconstructing primate retinal circuits impacted by the loss of input, in order to identify the challenges to circuit repair.