Rachel O.L. Wong, Ph.D.

DEPARTMENT OF Anatomy & Neurobiology
Keywords: neuronal circuits, development, imaging, electrophysiology, visual system

My laboratory is interested in how synaptic connections in the vertebrate central nervous system are organized during development. We are currently focusing on how neuronal communication influences the formation, stabilization and elimination of synaptic contacts in the developing visual system. Using multielectrode arrays that simultaneously record the electrical activity of large numbers of cells, we are examining how wave-like patterns of correlated electrical activity in the immature retina disappear before vision occurs. We are exploring whether photoreceptor transmission plays a role in the loss of retinal waves, and how changes in retinal activity patterns impact connectivity between the retina and its central targets. Another major focus of the lab is to use optical imaging techniques to determine how developmental changes in neuronal structure give rise to highly organized retinal networks. In particular, we are investigating the intercellular and intracellular signals that mediate the growth and structural remodeling of developing axons and dendrites during the period of synapse formation and refinement. We follow dynamic changes in pre- and postsynaptic structures of fluorescently labeled retinal neurons in retinal explants from wildtype and mutant mice. We are also imaging the in vivo formation and refinement of synaptic layers in the retina of wildtype and mutant transgenic zebrafish, using confocal and two-photon microscopy. Calcium imaging allows us to monitor functional interactions between cells as connections form and remodel. Together, these multifaceted approaches enable us to study the mechanisms that underlie the structural and functional development of the central nervous system.