The building blocks for visual perception and the sensation of self

Special Seminar 

You are cordially invited to a special seminar of the 
Department of Human molecular Genetics and Biochemistry

By:

Inbal Shainer, PhD 

The Department Genes-Circuits-Behavior, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Munich, Germany & The Depratment of Brain Science

The Weizmann Institute of Science

Israel

Title:

“The building blocks for visual perception and the sensation of self”

Abstract: The vertebrate optic tectum is composed of a spatial array of neurons that transform visual inputs into motor outputs. To uncover the cell-type architecture of the tectum, we transcriptionally profiled its neurons, revealing approximately 60 cell types that are organized in distinct anatomical layers. We then measured the functional tuning of thousands of neurons to a battery of ethologically relevant visual stimuli by two-photon calcium imaging and matched them to their cell-type identities. Surprisingly, we found that neurons that are transcriptionally similar can diverge functionally and morphologically. Incorporating the spatial coordinates of neurons within the tectal volume as a classifier revealed functionally defined subclusters within individual transcriptomic clusters. Our findings suggest that extrinsic, position-dependent factors expand the phenotypic repertoire of genetically similar neurons.

In addition to characterizing the tectum architecture, we focused on examining distinct populations of neurons that expressed genes typically associated with the cerebellum. Such cerebellum-like systems generally act to cancel self-generated sensory information. Through electron microscopy reconstruction and transgenic lines, we elucidated the connectivity of this cerebellum-like structure, and showed it receives information both about the movement of the eyes as well as visual information. Overall, our data implies that this circuit enables the optic tectum to differentiate between internally generated visual motion and externally perceived motion.

Our findings establish a connection between the repertoire of transcriptomic cell types and the spatial organization of visual perception

The Seminar will take place on

Sunday, January 14, 2024 at 10:15

At the Faculty of Medicine Building, Room 119