Abstract
Presentation Description :
I will discuss our recent efforts to classify the functional diversity of ganglion cells in the living primate fovea. By combining calcium imaging with a fluorescence adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope, we can image the light responses of hundreds of cells at once in the living macaque eye and return to the same populations for months or years. Using this approach, we have characterized over 1000 cells with a stimulus battery measuring spectral, contrast, spatial, temporal and motion tuning. While the fovea is best known for a high density of midget ganglion cells, we find that other cell types make up at least 15% of the population. The response properties of these rarer cell types vary widely and include direction-selective and suppressed-by-contrast cells. Our results highlight the diversity and complexity of the visual processing occurring in the primate fovea.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.