Studying signaling of retinal ganglion and amacrine cells by means of high-density microelectrode arrays
Embargoed until 2026-02-15
Author
Date
2023Type
- Doctoral Thesis
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Abstract
Within this thesis we utilized high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEA) to analyze the electrical activity of cells of the inner retinal layer. We worked with ex vivo retinae of mice and non-human primates, which were stimulated with light stimuli covering an area of ~6 mm2. Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based HD-MEAs with 1024 or 2048 parallel voltage-recording channels provided high-resolution electrophysiological data to identify the activity of thousands of retinal neurons.
A combination of diverse light stimuli, pharmacological perturbations of the tissue, and analytical approaches was used to discover and analyze a previously unreported retinal event that we refer to as 'retinal waves' in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a non-human primate. These waves presumably originate from a non-spiking amacrine cell and are characterized by a unique set of features, including a rapid propagation velocity and a propagation extension of several millimeters; they are exclusively triggered by light stimulation. Through pharmacological perturbations, we obtained first insights into the underlying mechanisms responsible for wave elicitation and propagation.
Furthermore, we recorded from populations of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in mice by using a novel elaborate light stimulus called “random moving objects” (RMO) to elicit electrical responses with higher efficiency compared to the stimuli typically used in retina research. In addition, the application of the RMO stimulus enabled us to characterize a number of parameters of the stimulated RGCs, including contrast polarity of their responses, direction preference, and spatial receptive fields. Show more
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https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000598636Publication status
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Publisher
ETH ZurichSubject
Neuroscience; Retina; Retina Ganglion Cell; Amacrine cells; Microelectrode array (MEA)Organisational unit
03684 - Hierlemann, Andreas / Hierlemann, Andreas
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ETH Bibliography
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