Ensemble Coding in the Crayfish Lamina Ganglion
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'IOS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Christopher Platt'}
The means by which information from sensory receptors is encoded                is an important general problem in neurobiology.  This project is               a study of a specific example of this problem, the coding of                    visual information in a relatively simple neuronal network, the                 crayfish lamina ganglion.  The ganglia of the crayfish optical                  system are arranged in columnar fashion.  Their neurons are                     distributed in an ordered manner such that they form a map of                   the retina.  Each point in visual space is encoded by five                      ganglion neurons which form a single column.  These neurons                     have graded responses to light.  Thus, each column can encode                   intensity, local contrast, orientation of polarized light, and                  wavelength (color) at a small region of the visual field.                                                                                                       The Principal Investigator has characterized the morphology and                 connections of many of the ganglion cells in this neural network,               and has also determined the chemical messengers by which some of                them communicate.  In this project he hopes to determine how the                neural circuits already identified compute the values of various                aspects of the stimulus, including polarization angle and                       velocity of movement, and how visual behavior is influenced by                  their activity.  The methods he is using include electrical                     recording from neurons that can be identified microscopically                   from dye injected into them at the time of recording, and using                 immunocytochemical and pharmacological procedures to identify                   their chemical messengers (neurotransmitters).
{'FirstName': 'Raymon', 'LastName': 'Glantz', 'EmailAddress': 'rmg@rice.edu', 'StartDate': '08/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'William Marsh Rice University', 'CityName': 'Houston', 'ZipCode': '770051827', 'PhoneNumber': '7133484820', 'StreetAddress': '6100 MAIN ST', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Texas', 'StateCode': 'TX'}
{'Code': '1185', 'Text': 'SENSORY SYSTEMS'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8711141.xml'}