Glaucoma is an irreversible blinding disease due to progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons. Astrocytes are glial cells that reside in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) closely to RGC bodies and unsheathe axons in the optic nerve head. Astrocytes play an important role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. A unique feature of astrocytes is that they are extensively coupled by gap junctions (GJ) composed of connexin 43 (Cx43). In addition, unopposed Cx43 hemichannels can open in pathological conditions and release signaling molecules (e.g., ATP and excess glutamate). The role of astrocytic Cx43 GJ and hemichannels in glaucoma is unclear. Here we studied the effect of Cx43 deletion in astrocytes in normal conditions and in glaucomatous injuries. Results show that deletion of Cx43 does not affect normal retinal function, potentially due to direct coupling of astrocytes to Müller glia. Microbead-induced elevation of IOP increased Cx43 expression and GJ coupling in astrocytes. Importantly, astrocyte-specific deletion of Cx43 markedly reduced RGC death and preserved visual function in glaucomatous mice. Absence of Cx43 in astrocytes also reduced microglial activation in glaucoma but did not affect astrocyte reactivity. Additionally, intravitreal injections of Gap19 peptide, a selective Cx43 hemichannel blocker, markedly increased RGC survival and improved RGC function, indicating a contribution of activated Cx43 hemichannels in glaucoma progression. Therefore, targeting Cx43 hemichannels might be a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of glaucoma.

The Photopic Negative Response is a component of the light-adapted electroretinogram (ERG) that is reduced in glaucomatous eyes and the Bruch’s Membrane Opening - Minimum Rim Width (MRW) than Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) thickness are two structural measures of retinal ganglion cell related structures that are disrupted in glaucomatous eyes. The purpose of our investigation was to determine whether the PhNR amplitude in primary open angle glaucoma patients is better correlated with Bruch’s Membrane Opening - Minimum Rim Width (MRW) than Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) thickness. Methods: Full-field Photopic Flash ERGs to brief red flashes delivered on a rod-saturating blue background were recorded from one eye of glaucoma patients (N=10) and age-matched controls (N=10) using an electrophysiological system from Diagnosys (Lowell, MA). The PhNR and b-wave responses of the ERG was plotted as a function of test flash strength and fitted with a generalized Naka-Rushton equation to derive values for saturated amplitude, slope and semi-saturation constant. BMO-MRW and peripapillary RNFL thickness were measured from the same eyes using a Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography system (Spectralis SD-OCT, Heidelberg Inc, Germany). Visual field sensitivity was assessed with the Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer 24-2 SITA standard test (Carl Zeiss Meditec, USA). ERG Naka-Rushton fit parameters were compared between glaucoma patients and age-matched controls. Linear regression analysis was used to study the correlation of significant fit parameters with BMO-MRW, RFNL and average visual field sensitivity. Results: Of the three different Naka-Rushton fit parameters derived for the PhNR and b-wave only the saturated amplitude of the PhNR was significantly different between glaucomatous and control subjects (p=0.000002). The PhNR saturated amplitude was significantly correlated only with with BMO-MRW in control eyes (r=0.74, m=0.1, p=0.0002) and in glaucomatous eyes showed a better correlation with BMO-MRW (r=0.91, m=0.05, p=0.0002) than with RNFL thickness (r=0.7, m=0.18, p=0.03). PhNR saturated amplitude was also correlated with average behavioral visual sensitivity in glaucomatous eyes (r=0.72, m=29.9, p=0.02). Conclusion: The variance in PhNR amplitude in control and glaucomatous eyes is better accounted for by BMO-MRW than RNFL thickness. This finding may reflect an optic nerve head and prelaminar optic nerve being the locus of PhNR generation as well as early pathogenic events in glaucoma.

There are about 3 million afferents going from retina to our primary visual cortex through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus. The thalamic afferents form clusters in visual cortex based on the stimuli to which they respond. There are afferent clusters based on retinal spatial arrangement (retinotopy), eye of input (ocular dominance), orientation preference, and light and dark polarity (ON and OFF). The similarities in the pattern organization of afferents in different species suggests a general mapping rule in the development of primary visual cortex. It has been suggested that the thalamocortical pathway is the origin of these maps (Kremkow and Alonso, 2018), but there are still many open questions regarding the functionality, interrelations, and underlying developing mechanisms of these maps. In the first part of this study, I investigated the relationship between the maps of retinotopy and ocular dominance. I explored the underlying reason behind the diversity of ocular dominance columns patterns in the primary visual cortex of different species. I found that the irregularity in the morphology of ocular dominance columns could be explained by local variations in the retinotopic map of different animals. In the second part of the study, I propose a general theory of cortical map formation that provides a biologically plausible mechanism of map development. The main idea of the theory is that the organization of visual cortical maps in different species is determined by the sampling density of the afferents responding to the same point of visual space. As the number of afferents per visual point increases, the visual cortex becomes larger to accommodate the increased number of inputs. Consequently, the input afferents sort not only by spatial location but also by other stimulus features like eye of input and contrast polarity. I test my theory with a computational model that compares computer simulations with experimental data. The model has three main developing stages: 1- retina, 2- cortical subplate, and 3- mature cortex. The result of the model is consistent with a large body of experimental evidence in the literature and our electrophysiological measurements from cat primary visual cortex. The model also allows simulating the cortical map of different animals and could help to guide the implantation of cortical prosthesis in the future to cure blindness.

Objects that pass light through are considered transparent, and we generally expect that the light coming out will match the perceived color of the object. However, when the object is placed on a colored surface, the light coming back to our eyes becomes a composite of surface, illumination, and transparency properties. Despite that, we can often perceive separate overlaid and overlaying layers differing in colors. How neurons separate the information to extract the transparent layer remains unknown, but physical characteristics of transparent filters generate geometrical and color features in retinal images which could provide cues for separating layers. We estimated the relative importance of such cues in a perceptual scale for transparency, using stimuli in which X or T-junctions, different relative motions, and color consistency, cooperated or competed in forced-preference psychophysics experiments. Maximum-likelihood Thurstone scaling revealed some new results: moving X-junctions increased transparency compared to static X-junctions, but moving T-junctions decreased transparency compared to static T-junctions by creating the percept of an opaque patch. However, if the motion of a filter uncovered a dynamically changing but stationary pattern, sharing common fate with the surround but forming T-junctions, the probability of seeing transparency was almost as high as for moving X-junctions, despite the stimulus being physically improbable. In addition, geometric cues overrode color inconsistency to a great degree. Finally, a linear model of transparency perception as a function of relative motions between filter, overlay, and surround layers, contour continuation, and color consistency, quantified a hierarchy of latent influences on when the filter is seen as a separate transparent layer. Previous measurements of color scission have limitations. The color adjustment to match the target color is relatively accurate but time consuming and suffers from long time adaptation bias. Force-choice judgment is quick and free from adaptation effect, but the selection of choices can be the source of bias. We examine the observers’ ability to estimate filter color with transparency with our improved method: we ask observers to make a judgement of the transparency region being red or green (or, blue/yellow). By doing this we found the neutral point of the filter that the observers think colorless. The result showed that, in color consistent conditions, though biased by the background or individual preference, the observers’ measured neutral filter settings were close to the colorless filter, showing relatively good color scission. In the color inconsistent conditions, the observers matched the overlaid region to a neutral color, as if the observers were attributing the average color of the overlaid region completely to the transparency. Veridicality of scission varied little in the color consistent conditions, despite the large variation in degree of perceived transparency. An exception to the rule that only one color is seen at every retinotopic location happens when a bounded colored transparency or spotlight is seen on a differently colored surface. Despite the spectrum of the light from each retinotopic location being an inextricable multiplication of illumination, transmission, and reflectance spectra, we seem to be able to scission the information into background and transparency/spotlight colors. Visual cues to separating overlay and overlaid layers have been enumerated, but neural mechanisms that extract veridical colors for overlays have not been identified. Here, we demonstrate that spatial induction contributes to color scission by shifting the color of the overlay toward the actual color of the filter. By alternating filter and illumination spectra, we present naturalistic simulations where isomeric disks appear to be covered by filters/spotlights of near veridical colors, depending solely on the surrounding illumination.

Background Given the extensive neural network of the human, binocular, pupillary system including its sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation, it is plausible that a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) could compromise pupillary control, thus causing pupillary asymmetry and dysfunction. Furthermore, presence of such pupillary abnormalities could exacerbate mTBI-related visual symptomatology, such as photosensitivity. There have only been two studies in the area, and they both used monocular pupillometry with only one test condition; hence they were limited. Furthermore, their results were in part equivocal. There remain many unanswered questions (i.e., gaps) in this important field of study including: 1) does mTBI affect the pupillary light reflex (PLR)?, 2) is there an increase in inter-ocular pupillary asymmetry (IOPA) in mTBI?, and 3) are there PLR differences related to one of the most prominent and prevalent dysfunctions resulting from mTBI, namely photosensitivity? Aim The overall aim of the present dissertation was twofold. First, to evaluate comprehensively the effect of mTBI on the human pupillary system, and furthermore to determine if pupillometry could be used as an objective visual biomarker for mTBI. Second, to evaluate comprehensively the effect of photosensitivity on the human pupillary system, and furthermore to determine if pupillometry could be used as an objective biomarker for photosensitivity. Methods The binocular pupillary light reflex was evaluated in mTBI, and it was compared to normal individuals, with and without photosensitivity, under a range of test conditions. Nine pupillary parameters (maximum, minimum, and final pupillary diameter; latency; amplitude; and peak and average constriction and dilation velocities) and 6 stimulus conditions (dim pulse, dim step, bright pulse, bright step, bright red step, and bright blue step) were assessed in 32 adults with mTBI (21-60 years of age) and compared to 40 normals (22-56 years of age). The Neuroptics, infrared, DP-2000 binocular pupillometer was used (30Hz sampling rate; 0.05mm resolution) with binocular stimulation and recording. Results and Discussion 1. Inter-ocular pupillary asymmetry: There were no statistical differences in either static or dynamic inter-ocular pupillary asymmetry (IOPA) between the normal and mTBI groups. Thus, the pupillary effects of mTBI appear to be symmetrical rather than asymmetrical in nature, which suggests post-chiasmal involvement. The mean average (across groups) static IOPA was 0.26 + 0.20mm or 4.17 + 3.29%. The mean average dynamic IOPA was dependent on the light stimulus condition, with the average across all test conditions and groups being 0.11 + 0.10mm or 1.84 + 1.70%. 2. Pupillometry in mTBI: mTBI has been reported to cause the pupillary light reflex (PLR) to be globally attenuated (i.e., slower in onset and more sluggish in response dynamics). The present results showed that there were many statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the PLR parameters between the mTBI and normal groups. Furthermore, different test conditions allowed for discrimination of different parameters between the two groups. For any of the given six test conditions, 5 to 8 of the 9 pupillary parameters were statistically different (p < 0.05) between the two groups. The overall trends revealed that the mTBI cohort had longer constriction latency, slower constriction and dilation velocities, and smaller pupillary diameters (baseline, minimum, and 6PSPD). The most consistent and robust pupillary parameters that differentiated between the two groups were the pupillary diameters (maximum, minimum, and 6SPSD; p < 0.01 under all 6 test conditions), and peak dilation velocity (p < 0.02, under all applicable conditions). This suggests that mTBI adversely affects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, however, the effect appears to be greater on the sympathetic system. 3. Pupillometry in photosensitivity: There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the PLR parameters of those with versus without photosensitivity in both groups. Interestingly, these differences depended upon whether the photosensitivity was mTBI related. Those with mTBI and photosensitivity manifested six significant differences (p < 0.05) as compared with those with mTBI cohort without photosensitivity: larger baseline diameter, larger minimum diameter, faster peak dilation velocity, faster T50 and T75 recovery times, and a larger pupil diameter at 6 seconds post-stimulus. Normal (non-mTBI) subjects with photosensitivity exhibited four significant differences (p < 0.05) as compared with their normal cohort without photosensitivity: larger constriction amplitude, faster average constriction

Abstract: Aim Considering the extensive neural network of the oculomotor subsystems, global damage as a result of traumatic brain injury could compromise precise oculomotor control, thus causing reading dysfunction. The aim of the present thesis was to evaluate comprehensively the effect of oculomotor-based vision rehabilitation in symptomatic individuals with respect to nearwork and reading and having a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). A wide range of laboratory and clinical parameters related to reading involving vergence, accommodation, and version were tested. Methods Twelve subjects with documented mTBI and nearvision-related symptoms participated in the study. A cross-over, interventional experimental design was used involving true “oculomotor” training and “SHAM” training. Each training protocol was performed for 6 weeks, 2 sessions a week, 45 minutes of actual training per session. During each training session, all three oculomotor subsystems (vergence/accommodation/version) were trained for 15 minutes each in a randomized order. All laboratory and clinical parameters were measured before (baseline) and after true oculomotor (post-OMT) and SHAM (post-SHAM) training. In addition, nearvision-related symptoms were assessed using the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) scale. Lastly, subjective attention was measured using the Visual Search and Attention Test (VSAT). iv Results Following true oculomotor training, there was a marked improvement in various laboratory and clinical parameters assessed. Over 80% of the abnormal parameters found at baseline testing were found to significantly improve with training. Dynamics of vergence and accommodation, along with clinically assessed maximum amplitudes, improved markedly. Versional saccadic eye movements demonstrated improved rhythmicity and accuracy. These results together had a significant positive impact on overall reading ability. The improved reading-related oculomotor behavior was reflected in reduction of symptoms. In addition, subjective attention was found to also improve with true oculomotor training. In contrast, none of the aforementioned parameters changed with SHAM training. Conclusions Oculomotor-based vision rehabilitation had a strong positive effect on reading-related oculomotor control. This oculomotor learning effect is suggestive of intact neuroplasticity mechanisms in a compromised brain following TBI.

Epidermal growth factor, EGF, is one of the essential growth factors that stimulates injury-induced corneal epithelial healing rates. Cell signaling contributors mediating this response include capacitative calcium entry (CCE) activation and protein kinase C (PKC) isoform stimulation. This study shows in human corneal epithelial cells, HCEC, that CCE is preferentially activated by the PKC isoforms  and . Moreover such activation requires increases in plasma membrane Ca2+ influx through store-operated channels. Therefore, EGF-induced stimulation of cell proliferation and migration may depend on unique effects mediated by six different PKC isoforms identified in HCEC. TRPV1 is a vanilloid subtype of the transient receptor potential protein superfamily. This isoform is a subunit of a non-selective cation channel mediating downstream responses to heat, low pH, or noxious stimuli. TRPV1 expression has been recently described in some epithelial tissues and induces proinflammatory cytokine release through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily stimulation. This study describes in HCEC the signaling pathways mediating TRPV1-induced increases in proinflammatory cytokine release. It suggests that epithelial TRPV1 receptor activation by noxious stimuli contributes in-vivo to mounting proinflammatory reactions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether reading performance, measured in words per minute, improved during an hour of within-session practice. The reading methods were three computer-generated presentations including (1) MNREAD, a modified page format, (2) RSVP, which presents one word at a time, and (3) SCROLL, where text pans from right to left across a screen. Forty-five young readers with normal vision, forty-five elder readers with normal vision, and forty-five readers with low vision due to age-related macular degeneration read by one of these methods. None of the participants had previous experience reading with MNREAD, RSVP of SCROLL. There was little evidence that within-session practice improved performance. Only 10 of 135 participants had modest reading rate gains, and there was no statistical difference between reading method or subject group for this small subset of readers.