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Contribution of rod photoresponse inactivation kinetics to visual temporal contrast sensitivity in mesopic light.

Award Number: R01EY026216
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/01/2016
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2026

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Contribution of rod photoresponse inactivation kinetics to visual temporal contrast sensitivity in mesopic light. - Project Summary Rod-mediated vision transitions seamlessly to cone-mediated vision as light levels rise through the mesopic visual range. Despite the fact that mesopic vision is the major mode of vision for people who spend most of their time indoors under artificial lighting, there is a glaring lack of knowledge of how rod and cone photoresponses shape the temporal, spatial, and spectral sensitivities of mesopic vision. For decades it has been accepted that rods subserve vision in dim scenes, detecting only slow variations in light levels (contrast), and cones subserve vision in bright scenes when contrast changes rapidly. Our recently published results show that at indoor (mesopic) light levels, rods drive the visual responses to fast — not slow — temporal variations. Our findings reveal, for the first time, that adaptation of both rod and cone-driven visual responses underlie the seamless transition between scotopic and photopic vision over the mesopic range, but we do not understand how this happens. Therefore, there is a critical need to understand the physiology and functional significance of rod responses at mesopic, indoor light levels. In this application our objectives are: (i) to determine the adaptation mechanisms that control the responses of rods to slow and fast light variations in mesopic lights, and (ii) to determine the behavioral significance of rod-driven visual responses to fast changing scenes in mesopic lights. Our model is that a hierarchical system of adaptation mechanisms is in place to differentially regulate rod sensitivity as lights rise through the mesopic range. To test this model we propose two related but independent aims that investigate the underlying cellular and perceptual mechanisms. These aims are to determine 1) how rods respond to slow and fast variations in mesopic lights, and 2) the behavioral significance of inner segment conductances to the adaptation of rod visual responses in mesopic lights. For the first aim we will combine the power of mouse genetics, electrophysiological recordings, quantitative modeling, and operant behavioral assays to determine how different phototransduction adaptation mechanisms, including background and bleaching adaptation, work together to differentially regulate the responses to slow and fast light variations and to overcome the crippling effects of response compression in mesopic illumination. For the second aim, we will use mice with rod-specific knockout of voltage-gated conductances that are typically activated at mesopic lights to probe the functional significance of inner segment conductances to rod-driven responses in mesopic lights. Our expected outcome is to provide evidence for mechanisms that the visual system uses to encode signal variations in mesopic lights (Advancement of Basic Knowledge). Knowledge of this mechanisms will open new strategies for understanding and treating retinal pathological conditions, with implications beyond this particular application (Innovation for Emerging Therapy).


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $421,363 )
2025	2025	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	9	3/13/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,363
														Subtotal = $421,363

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $421,363 )
2024	2024	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	8	2/26/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,363
														Subtotal = $421,363

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $421,363 )
2023	2023	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	7	3/13/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,363
														Subtotal = $421,363

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $421,363 )
2022	2022	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	6	2/23/2022	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,363
2022	2022	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	002	6	6/30/2022	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$145
2022	2020	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	001	5	6/30/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$145
														Subtotal = $421,363

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $364,500 )
2020	2020	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	5	1/14/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$364,500
														Subtotal = $364,500

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $364,500 )
2019	2019	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	4	12/24/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$364,500
														Subtotal = $364,500

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $364,500 )
2018	2018	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	3	12/26/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$328,050
2018	2018	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	001	3	5/7/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$36,450
														Subtotal = $364,500

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $364,500 )
2017	2017	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	2	12/12/2016	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$328,050
2017	2017	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, THE	750 E ADAMS ST	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	001	2	7/17/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$36,450
														Subtotal = $364,500

Issue Date FY: 2016 ( Subtotal = $363,375 )
2016	2016	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF UPSTATE MEDICAL CENTER	750 EAST ADAMS STREET	SYRACUSE	NY	13210	ONONDAGA	USA	Vision Research	000	1	12/17/2015	NEW	$363,375
														Subtotal = $363,375

Grand Total All Awards = $3,506,827

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Contribution of rod photoresponse inactivation kinetics to visual temporal contrast sensitivity in mesopic light.

Award Number: R01EY026216

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/01/2016

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2026

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