Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Structure and function of neural circuits

The function of the brain can be studied at many different hierarchical levels. We are interested in how neurons interact in local neuronal networks to compute behaviourally relevant functions. We use the mammalian retina as a model system because the input, the dynamically changing light pattern, is well defined and can be easily manipulated experimentally. Moreover, the activity of each neuron can be recorded during retinal light stimulation.

Our experimental approach is interdisciplinary: we combine physiological, molecular, viral and computational approaches to reveal the structure and function of retinal circuits. We use molecular techniques to genetically identify cell types in the network and label them using transgenic technologies. The connections of labelled cells are revealed using trans-synaptic viruses. Next we study the function of a genetically isolated circuit with physiological and imaging tools. Finally, we use computational methods to predict the behaviour of an isolated circuit in natural conditions.