The role of local network activity in stimulus-induced direction selectivity. (360G-Wellcome-080541_Z_06_Z)

The project will investigate how local network activity helps to shape stimulus-induced changes in the functional properties of sensory neurons. The general aim is to elucidate the role of local glutamate and _-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mediated signals in the stimulus driven physiological changes that occur in a developing visual system. The research will focus on direction selectivity in the retinotectal system of Xenopus Laevis tadpoles. This system represents the Xenopus' primary pathway, where axons from the retinal ganglion cells in the ye project to the brain and form glutamatergic synaptic connections on the dendrites of optic tectum neurons. Direction selectivity in tectal cells can be rapidly induced by training, and tectal cells are known to be very sensitive to spatiotemporal statistics in visual stimuli.