Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Retinal waves shape starburst amacrine cell dendrite development through a direction-selective dendritic computation.

Cell reports·2026

Same author

Adapting a Two-Photon Scanning Microscope for Simultaneous Single-Photon Imaging of an Infrared Dopamine Sensor.

eNeuro·2026

Same author

Müller glia-vasculature interactions in the developing retina.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Adapting a two-photon scanning microscope for simultaneous single-photon imaging of an infrared dopamine sensor.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Cholinergic Waves Have a Modest Influence on the Transcriptome of Retinal Ganglion Cells.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2025

Same author

Activity-dependent development of synaptic circuits mediates direction selectivity in an axis-specific manner.

Cell reports·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits

Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits

Published on: March 14, 2018

CaV3.2 KO mice have altered retinal waves but normal direction selectivity.

Aaron M Hamby¹, Juliana M Rosa¹, Ching-Hsiu Hsu¹

¹Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,University of California,Berkeley,Berkeley,California.

Visual Neuroscience

|April 16, 2015

Summary

Retinal waves guide brain connections but are not essential for developing direction selectivity within the retina. Mice lacking T-type calcium channels show altered retinal waves and brain projections, yet their vision develops normally.

Keywords:

Neurodevelopment

More Related Videos

Optimization of the Retinal Vein Occlusion Mouse Model to Limit Variability

Optimization of the Retinal Vein Occlusion Mouse Model to Limit Variability

Published on: August 6, 2021

Author Spotlight: An Accurate and Quantitative Approach to Study Visual Feature Selectivity of the Optokinetic Reflex in Mice

Author Spotlight: An Accurate and Quantitative Approach to Study Visual Feature Selectivity of the Optokinetic Reflex in Mice

Published on: June 23, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits

Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits

Published on: March 14, 2018

Optimization of the Retinal Vein Occlusion Mouse Model to Limit Variability

Optimization of the Retinal Vein Occlusion Mouse Model to Limit Variability

Published on: August 6, 2021

Author Spotlight: An Accurate and Quantitative Approach to Study Visual Feature Selectivity of the Optokinetic Reflex in Mice

Author Spotlight: An Accurate and Quantitative Approach to Study Visual Feature Selectivity of the Optokinetic Reflex in Mice

Published on: June 23, 2023

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Biology
Retinal Physiology

Background:

The developing retina generates spontaneous activity called retinal waves before vision onset.
Retinal waves are crucial for forming connections between the eye and the brain.
The role of retinal waves in developing direction selectivity within the retina remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of retinal waves in the development of direction-selective circuits within the retina.
To examine the impact of disrupted retinal waves on retinal projections and direction selectivity.

Main Methods:

Utilized multielectrode array and cell-attached recordings in mice lacking the CaV3.2 subunit of T-type calcium channels (CaV3.2 KO).
Analyzed spontaneous retinal activity, including wave-associated bursts of action potentials.
Examined retinal projection patterns in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) and direction-selective ganglion cell (DSGC) responses.

Main Results:

CaV3.2 KO mice exhibited significantly decreased frequency and firing rate of wave-associated action potential bursts.
Retinal projections in CaV3.2 KO mice showed reduced eye-specific segregation in the dLGN.
Post-eye-opening, direction-selective responses of DSGCs in CaV3.2 KO mice were comparable to wild-type.

Conclusions:

The temporal properties of action potential bursts in retinal waves are vital for refining retinal projections to central targets.
These temporal properties are not critical for establishing direction selectivity within the retina itself.
Normal development of direction selectivity can occur despite altered retinal wave activity.