Journal Club | Postsynaptic Neuronal Activity Promotes Retinal Axon Regeneration

Supraja’s presentation provides insights into mechanisms that promote retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon regeneration in vertebrates. Her work describes a distal optic tract injury model that can be used to investigate reconnectivity of RGC axons to central targets in the brain. She also describes how increased neural activity in retinorecipient neurons in the pretectum promotes RGC axon regeneration, and rescues deficits in optomotor function caused by injury. Techniques used include intravitreal injections, chemogenetics, anatomical tracing, optomotor testing, and histology.