Cellular mechanisms for direction selectivity in the retina

Direction selectivity represents a fundamental computation found across multiple sensory systems. In the mammalian visual system, direction selectivity appears first in the retina, where excitatory and inhibitory interneurons release neurotransmitter most rapidly during movement in a preferred direction. Two parallel sets of interneuron signals are integrated by a direction-selective ganglion cell, which creates a direction preference for both bright and dark moving objects. Direction selectivity of synaptic input becomes amplified by action potentials in the ganglion cell dendrites. Recent work has elucidated direction-selective mechanisms in inhibitory circuitry, but mechanisms in excitatory circuitry remain unexplained.     

Mathematical analysis and modeling of motion direction selectivity in the retina

Motion detection is one of the most important and primitive computations performed by our visual system. Specifically in the retina, ganglion cells producing motion direction-selective responses have been addressed by different disciplines, such as mathematics, neurophysiology and computational modeling, since the beginnings of vision science. Although a number of studies have analyzed theoretical and mathematical considerations for such responses, a clear picture of the underlying cellular mechanisms is only recently emerging. In general, motion direction selectivity is based on a non-linear asymmetric computation inside a receptive field differentiating cell responses between preferred and null direction stimuli. To what extent can biological findings match these considerations? In this review, we outline theoretical and mathematical studies of motion direction selectivity, aiming to map the properties of the models onto the neural circuitry and synaptic connectivity found in the retina. Additionally, we review several compartmental models that have tried to fill this gap. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges that computational models will have to tackle in order to fully understand the retinal motion direction-selective circuitry.     

Direction selectivity in the retina

The neuronal circuitry underlying the generation of direction selectivity in the retina has remained elusive for almost 40 years. Recent studies indicate that direction selectivity may be established within the radial dendrites of 'starburst' amacrine cells and that retinal ganglion cells may acquire their direction selectivity by the appropriate weighting of excitatory and inhibitory inputs from starburst dendrites pointing in different directions. If so, this would require unexpected complexity and subtlety in the synaptic connectivity of these CNS neurons.     

Parallel mechanisms encode direction in the retina

In the retina, presynaptic inhibitory mechanisms that shape directionally selective (DS) responses in output ganglion cells are well established. However, the nature of inhibition-independent forms of directional selectivity remains poorly defined. Here, we describe a genetically specified set of ON-OFF DS ganglion cells (DSGCs) that code anterior motion. This entire population of DSGCs exhibits asymmetric dendritic arborizations that orientate toward the preferred direction. We demonstrate that morphological asymmetries along with nonlinear dendritic conductances generate a centrifugal (soma-to-dendrite) preference that does not critically depend upon, but works in parallel with the GABAergic circuitry. We also show that in symmetrical DSGCs, such dendritic DS mechanisms are aligned with, or are in opposition to, the inhibitory DS circuitry in distinct dendritic subfields where they differentially interact to promote or weaken directional preferences. Thus, pre- and postsynaptic DS mechanisms interact uniquely in distinct ganglion cell populations, enabling efficient DS coding under diverse conditions.     

The generation of direction selectivity in the auditory system

Both human speech and animal vocal signals contain frequency-modulated (FM) sounds. Although central auditory neurons that selectively respond to the direction of frequency modulation are known, the synaptic mechanisms underlying the generation of direction selectivity (DS) remain elusive. Here we show the emergence of DS neurons in the inferior colliculus by mapping the three major subcortical auditory nuclei. Cell-attached recordings reveal a highly reliable and precise firing of DS neurons to FM sweeps in a preferred direction. By using in vivo whole-cell current-clamp and voltage-clamp recordings, we found that the synaptic inputs to DS neurons are not direction selective, but temporally reversed excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs are evoked in response to opposing directions of FM sweeps. The construction of such temporal asymmetry, resulting DS, and its topography can be attributed to the spectral disparity of the excitatory and the inhibitory synaptic tonal receptive fields.     

利用Red同源重组系统进行牛β酪蛋白基因敲除

利用EL350基因工程菌进行同源重组, 成功进行基因敲除已有报道, 但利用该系统进行乳腺生物反应器质粒构建的研究却未见报道。实验采用含有完整的牛b 酪蛋白基因的CSN2质粒作为基因打靶的载体, 设计不同的同源臂, 成功地敲除了b 酪蛋白基因的编码区。并且同时利用同源重组技术对敲除不同大小的DNA片段的效率进行了研究。为进一步利用CSN2质粒两端的调控序列, 插入新的基因, 研究其表达功能, 或者进行乳腺生物反应器的研究奠定了基础。     

Development of direction selectivity in mouse cortical neurons

Previous studies of the ferret visual cortex indicate that the development of direction selectivity requires visual experience. Here, we used two-photon calcium imaging to study the development of direction selectivity in layer 2/3 neurons of the mouse visual cortex in vivo. Surprisingly, just after eye opening nearly all orientation-selective neurons were also direction selective. During later development, the number of neurons responding to drifting gratings increased in parallel with the fraction of neurons that were orientation, but not direction, selective. Our experiments demonstrate that direction selectivity develops normally in dark-reared mice, indicating that the early development of direction selectivity is independent of visual experience. Furthermore, remarkable functional similarities exist between the development of direction selectivity in cortical neurons and the previously reported development of direction selectivity in the mouse retina. Together, these findings provide strong evidence that the development of orientation and direction selectivity in the mouse brain is distinctly different from that in ferrets.     

A model of direction selectivity in the starburst amacrine cell network

Displaced starburst amacrine cells (SACs) are retinal interneurons that exhibit GABA _A receptor-mediated and Cl ^? cotransporter-mediated, directionally selective (DS) light responses in the rabbit retina. They depolarize to stimuli that move centrifugally through the receptive field surround and hyperpolarize to stimuli that move centripetally through the surround (Gavrikov et al, PNAS 100(26):16047–16052, 2003, PNAS 103(49):18793–18798, 2006). They also play a key role in the activity of DS ganglion cells (DS GC; Amthor et al, Vis Neurosci 19:495–509 2002; Euler et al, Nature 418:845–852, 2002; Fried et al, Nature 420:411– 414, 2002; Gavrikov et al, PNAS 100(26):16047–16052, 2003, PNAS 103(49):18793–18798, 2006; Lee and Zhou, Neuron 51:787–799 2006; Yoshida et al, Neuron 30:771–780, 2001). In this paper we present a model of strong DS behavior of SACs which relies on the GABA-mediated communication within a tightly interconnected network of these cells and on the glutamate signal that the SACs receive from bipolar cells (a presynaptic cell that receives input from cones). We describe how a moving light stimulus can produce a large, sustained depolarization of the SAC dendritic tips that point in the direction that the stimulus moves (i.e., centrifugal motion), but produce a minimal depolarization of the dendritic tips that point in the opposite direction (i.e., centripetal motion). This DS behavior, which is quantified based on the relative size and duration of the depolarizations evoked by stimulus motion at dendritic tips pointing in opposite directions, is robust to changes of many different parameter values and consistent with experimental data. In addition, the DS behavior is strengthened under the assumptions that the Cl^? cotransporters Na^?+?-K^?+?-Cl^?? and K^?+?-Cl^?? are located in different regions of the SAC dendritic tree (Gavrikov et al, PNAS 103(49):18793–18798, 2006) and that GABA evokes a long-lasting response (Gavrikov et al, PNAS 100(26):16047–16052, 2003, PNAS 103(49):18793–18798, 2006; Lee and Zhou, Neuron 51:787–799, 2006). A possible mechanism is discussed based on the generation of waves of local glutamate and GABA secretion, and their postsynaptic interplay as the waves travel between cell compartments.     

A model for direction selectivity in threshold motion perception

Thresholds were measured for a moving line superimposed on moving sinusoidal gratings. When line and grating moved in the same direction significant subthreshold summation was observed over a range of spatial frequencies. For motion of the line and grating in opposite directions, summation was never observed. This supports the hypothesis that direction selective mechanisms are responsible for motion perception at threshold. Further analysis of the data produced estimates of the spatial frequency tuning of these mechanisms. A quantitative model is proposed to interpret the data, and it is suggested that flickering gratings are not decomposed into their moving components by the visual system.     

敲除Adipophilin基因对脂质代谢相关疾病的作用

Adipophilin是PAT (perilipin/adipophilin/Tip47)蛋白家族的一个成员,定位于细胞质和细胞内的脂滴表面.Adipophilin能促进脂质蓄积和细胞内脂滴的形成,在泡沫细胞的形成中起重要作用,是动脉粥样硬化脂质蓄积的一个标记物.Adipophilin基因敲除小鼠能预防高脂饮食诱导的脂肪肝产生,且在脂肪组织分化过程中也起着一定的作用.本文概述了adipophilin在细胞内脂质代谢中的作用.     

Synaptic plasticity can produce and enhance direction selectivity

The discrimination of the direction of movement of sensory images is critical to the control of many animal behaviors. We propose a parsimonious model of motion processing that generates direction selective responses using short-term synaptic depression and can reproduce salient features of direction selectivity found in a population of neurons in the midbrain of the weakly electric fish Eigenmannia virescens. The model achieves direction selectivity with an elementary Reichardt motion detector: information from spatially separated receptive fields converges onto a neuron via dynamically different pathways. In the model, these differences arise from convergence of information through distinct synapses that either exhibit or do not exhibit short-term synaptic depression—short-term depression produces phase-advances relative to nondepressing synapses. Short-term depression is modeled using two state-variables, a fast process with a time constant on the order of tens to hundreds of milliseconds, and a slow process with a time constant on the order of seconds to tens of seconds. These processes correspond to naturally occurring time constants observed at synapses that exhibit short-term depression. Inclusion of the fast process is sufficient for the generation of temporal disparities that are necessary for direction selectivity in the elementary Reichardt circuit. The addition of the slow process can enhance direction selectivity over time for stimuli that are sustained for periods of seconds or more. Transient (i.e., short-duration) stimuli do not evoke the slow process and therefore do not elicit enhanced direction selectivity. The addition of a sustained global, synchronous oscillation in the gamma frequency range can, however, drive the slow process and enhance direction selectivity to transient stimuli. This enhancement effect does not, however, occur for all combinations of model parameters. The ratio of depressing and nondepressing synapses determines the effects of the addition of the global synchronous oscillation on direction selectivity. These ingredients, short-term depression, spatial convergence, and gamma-band oscillations, are ubiquitous in sensory systems and may be used in Reichardt-style circuits for the generation and enhancement of a variety of biologically relevant spatiotemporal computations.     

Spontaneously emerging direction selectivity maps in visual cortex through STDP

It is still an open question as to whether, and how, direction-selective neuronal responses in primary visual cortex are generated by feedforward thalamocortical or recurrent intracortical connections, or a combination of both. Here we present an investigation that concentrates on and, only for the sake of simplicity, restricts itself to intracortical circuits, in particular, with respect to the developmental aspects of direction selectivity through spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity. We show that directional responses can emerge in a recurrent network model of visual cortex with spiking neurons that integrate inputs mainly from a particular direction, thus giving rise to an asymmetrically shaped receptive field. A moving stimulus that enters the receptive field from this (preferred) direction will activate a neuron most strongly because of the increased number and/or strength of inputs from this direction and since delayed isotropic inhibition will neither overlap with, nor cancel excitation, as would be the case for other stimulus directions. It is demonstrated how direction-selective responses result from spatial asymmetries in the distribution of synaptic contacts or weights of inputs delivered to a neuron by slowly conducting intracortical axonal delay lines. By means of spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity with an asymmetric learning window this kind of coupling asymmetry develops naturally in a recurrent network of stochastically spiking neurons in a scenario where the neurons are activated by unidirectionally moving bar stimuli and even when only intrinsic spontaneous activity drives the learning process. We also present simulation results to show the ability of this model to produce direction preference maps similar to experimental findings     

Knock out of neuronal nitric oxide synthase exacerbates intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice

Recent investigation of the intestine following ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) has revealed that nitric oxide synthase (NOS) neurons are more strongly affected than other neuron types. This implies that NO originating from NOS neurons contributes to neuronal damage. However, there is also evidence of the neuroprotective effects of NO. In this study, we compared the effects of I/R on the intestines of neuronal NOS knockout (nNOS(-/-)) mice and wild-type mice. I/R caused histological damage to the mucosa and muscle and infiltration of neutrophils into the external muscle layers. Damage to the mucosa and muscle was more severe and greater infiltration by neutrophils occurred in the first 24?h in nNOS(-/-) mice. Immunohistochemistry for the contractile protein, α-smooth muscle actin, was used to evaluate muscle damage. Smooth muscle actin occurred in the majority of smooth muscle cells in the external musculature of normal mice but was absent from most cells and was reduced in the cytoplasm of other cells following I/R. The loss was greater in nNOS(-/-) mice. Basal contractile activity of the longitudinal muscle and contractile responses to nerve stimulation or a muscarinic agonist were reduced in regions subjected to I/R and the effects were greater in nNOS(-/-) mice. Reductions in responsiveness also occurred in regions of operated mice not subjected to I/R. This is attributed to post-operative ileus that is not significantly affected by knockout of nNOS. The results indicate that deleterious effects are greater in regions subjected to I/R in mice lacking nNOS compared with normal mice, implying that NO produced by nNOS has protective effects that outweigh any damaging effect of this free radical produced by enteric neurons.     

A neural network model for the development of direction selectivity in the visual cortex

A neural network model is proposed to explain the development of direction selectivity of cortical cells. The model is constructed under the following three hypotheses that are very plausible from recent neurophysiological findings. (1) Direction selectivity is developed by modifiable inhibitory synapses. (2) It results not from the direct convergence of many excitatory inputs from LGN cells but from cortical neural networks. (3) Direction-selective mechanism is independent of orientation-selective mechanism.—The model was simulated on a computer for a few kinds of inhibitory connections and initial conditions. The results were consistent with neurophysiological facts not only for normal cats but for cats reared in an abnormal visual environment.     

Image processing: how the retina detects the direction of image motion

In the retina, the beautifully symmetrical 'starburst' amacrine cells interact with each other in a way that creates asymmetrical responses to moving images at their dendritic tips. This computation, occurring in a retinal interneuron, is a foundation of the directional signals transmitted by the retina to the brain.     

Sharpening of directional selectivity from neural output of rabbit retina

The estimation of motion direction from time varying retinal images is a fundamental task of visual systems. Neurons that selectively respond to directional visual motion are found in almost all species. In many of them already in the retina direction selective neurons signal their preferred direction of movement. Scientific evidences suggest that direction selectivity is carried from the retina to higher brain areas. Here we adopt a simple integrate-and-fire neuron model, inspired by recent work of Casti et al. (2008), to investigate how directional selectivity changes in cells postsynaptic to directional selective retinal ganglion cells (DSRGC). Our model analysis shows that directional selectivity in the postsynaptic cells increases over a wide parameter range. The degree of directional selectivity positively correlates with the probability of burst-like firing of presynaptic DSRGCs. Postsynaptic potentials summation and spike threshold act together as a temporal filter upon the input spike train. Prior to the intricacy of neural circuitry between retina and higher brain areas, we suggest that sharpening is a straightforward result of the intrinsic spiking pattern of the DSRGCs combined with the summation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials and the spike threshold in postsynaptic neurons.     

综合ChIP-chip数据、基因敲除数据和表达谱数据重构基因调控网络

揭示生物体内在的调控机制是生物信息学的一项重要研究内容．各种高通量生物数据的涌现,为从基因组的尺度上重构基因调控网络提供了可能．由于单数据源仅能提供关于调控关系的片面信息且存在噪声,因此整合多种生物学数据的方法有望得到可靠性较高的调控网络．提出了一种综合ChIP-chip数据、knock out (敲除)数据和各种条件下的表达谱数据来推断调控关系的新方法．ChIP-chip数据和knock out 数据能分别提供转录因子和目标基因对关系的直接物理结合和功能关系的证据,这两类数据的整合有望获得较高的识别准确率．但这两类数据的重合性通常较低,基于共调控的基因通常具有较高的表达相似性这一假设,在一定程度上降低了这两类数据重合性较低所带来的影响．算法所识别的大部分调控关系都被YEASTRACT,高质量ChIP-chip数据和文献所验证,从而证明了该方法在调控关系的预测上具有较高的准确性．与其他方法的比较,也表明了该方法具有较高的预测性能．     

A dendrite-autonomous mechanism for direction selectivity in retinal starburst amacrine cells

Detection of image motion direction begins in the retina, with starburst amacrine cells (SACs) playing a major role. SACs generate larger dendritic Ca²⁺ signals when motion is from their somata towards their dendritic tips than for motion in the opposite direction. To study the mechanisms underlying the computation of direction selectivity (DS) in SAC dendrites, electrical responses to expanding and contracting circular wave visual stimuli were measured via somatic whole-cell recordings and quantified using Fourier analysis. Fundamental and, especially, harmonic frequency components were larger for expanding stimuli. This DS persists in the presence of GABA and glycine receptor antagonists, suggesting that inhibitory network interactions are not essential. The presence of harmonics indicates nonlinearity, which, as the relationship between harmonic amplitudes and holding potential indicates, is likely due to the activation of voltage-gated channels. [Ca²⁺] changes in SAC dendrites evoked by voltage steps and monitored by two-photon microscopy suggest that the distal dendrite is tonically depolarized relative to the soma, due in part to resting currents mediated by tonic glutamatergic synaptic input, and that high-voltage–activated Ca²⁺ channels are active at rest. Supported by compartmental modeling, we conclude that dendritic DS in SACs can be computed by the dendrites themselves, relying on voltage-gated channels and a dendritic voltage gradient, which provides the spatial asymmetry necessary for direction discrimination.