Abstract

Visual information is transmitted from the primate eye to the brain through at least 20 distinct retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types. Each of these types can be distinguished by their unique morphologies and transcriptomic signatures, but the physiological functions of all but the most abundant types remain unknown. In this seminar, I will describe how we are combining molecular, anatomical, and functional methods to uncover the roles of these sparse RGC types. I will illustrate our approach by detailing the discovery of a direction-selective ganglion cell in the macaque retina and provide evidence that these cells are also present in human retina. Although sparse in primates (~1-2% of all RGCs), these highly conserved ganglion cells play a crucial role in reflexive gaze stabilization across various species. I will also describe how recent breakthroughs in comparative transcriptomics are enabling us to study other RGC types that are evolutionarily conserved between primates and lower vertebrates. Using this integrated approach, we aim to provide a framework to fully characterize RGC diversity and function in the primate visual system.