Direct activation and temporal response properties of rabbit retinal ganglion cells following subretinal stimulation

In the last decade several groups have been developing vision prostheses to restore visual perception to the profoundly blind. Despite some promising results from human trials, further understanding of the neural mechanisms involved is crucial for improving the efficacy of these devices. One of the techniques involves placing stimulating electrodes in the subretinal space between the photoreceptor layer and the pigment epithelium to evoke neural responses in the degenerative retina. This study used cell-attached and whole cell current-clamp recordings to investigate the responses of rabbit retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) following subretinal stimulation with 25-mum-diameter electrodes. We found that direct RGC responses with short latency (