Title
Quantitative analysis of retinal function in early stages of retinal degeneration in the rd1 mouse
Date of Degree
2010
Document Type
thesis
Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Department
Biomedical Engineering
First Advisor
Steven F. Stasheff
Abstract
In this thesis, I use a range of techniques in computational neuroscience, communication theory, and electrophysiology to characterize functional changes that occur in early stages of retinal degeneration in the mouse. At post natal day 14, retinal ganglion cells in the rd1 mouse exhibit peculiar differences from age matched controls: an increased latency of responses to the onset of a light stimulus, decreased spike count in response to stimulus onset, increased spontaneous firing activity, and a decrease in information transmission. I propose this is due to an up-regulation of OFF bipolar cell excitation, a critical factor in functional changes seen in rd1, and use innovative techniques to discover findings that support these claims.
Pages
viii, 68
Bibliography
48-53
Copyright
Copyright 2010 Erik Lee Nylen
Recommended Citation
Nylen, Erik Lee. "Quantitative analysis of retinal function in early stages of retinal degeneration in the rd1 mouse." thesis, University of Iowa, 2010.
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/565.