Harvard researchers have been conducting studies in mice that enable to get a deeper understanding of the connection between the thalamus and the retina. The duo that conducted the research was Jeff Lichtman, Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Santiago Ramon y Cajal Professor of Arts and Sciences, and post-doctorate fellow Joshua Morgan.
Their findings from the research were published in a paper published in Cell and conveys how they were able to make the connection between the retina and the thalamus and that is a far more complex network than was first realized. By examining the retina in more detail, they were able to see that each retinal cell split itself off in order to reach different types of thalamic cells, allowing the transfer of information between them.
Neural circuitry in the visual thalamus of a mouse. Shown in color against the backdrop of the 100-terabyte electron microscopy data set (black and white) are hundreds of neurons interconnected in a complex network.
In discovering the deeper connection that these two cells have, the team concluded that the brain is able to piece all of the data received from the different types of cells to piece together in a single thalamic cell to use visual information to form and image of the larger world. The exact design of these networks are different for everyone and are thought to be formed early on in development.
As part of Lichtman and Morgan’s research, they were also able to create the largest electron microscopy data set on neural connections in the brain. And by using a special tissue scanning and cutting device, Morgan was able to take images of the mice’s brains and use them to trace then how thalamic neurons connected to retinal neurons. This discovery has the potential to challenge some previous theories such as aspects covered by the Obama BRAIN Initiative, but it is early days, and more research needs to be carried out before anything is ruled out.
Story Via; News.Harvard.Edu
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