Work

Focusing on optic tectum circuitry through the lens of genetics

Year: 2010

Type: review

Abstract: The visual pathway is tasked with processing incoming signals from the retina and converting this information into adaptive behavior. Recent studies of the larval zebrafish tectum have begun to clarify how the 'micro-circuitry' of this highly organized midbrain structure filters visual input, which arrives in the superficial layers and directs motor output through efferent projections from its deep layers. The new emphasis has been on the specific function of neuronal cell types, which can now be reproducibly labeled, imaged and manipulated using genetic and optical techniques. Here, we discuss recent advances and emerging experimental approaches for studying tectal circuits as models for visual processing and sensorimotor transformation by the vertebrate brain.

Source: BMC Biology

DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-8-126

Authors: Linda M Nevin, Estuardo Robles, Herwig Baier, Ethan K Scott

Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, The University of Queensland

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,690

Funders: March of Dimes Foundation, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, National Institutes of Health