Topic: neuronal types

This lecture asks how developing brains generate many distinct neuronal types. It examines the contribution of a stem cell's spatial origin and its changing developmental state. Work in simpler nervous systems provides molecular examples that can inform the study of human cortical development.

The Manookin lab is investigating the structure and function of neural circuits within the retina and developing techniques for treating blindness. Many blinding diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, cause death of the rods and cones, but spare other cell types within the retina. Thus, many techniques for restoring visual function following blindness are based on the premise that other cells within the retina remain viable and capable of performing their various roles in visual processing. There are more than 80 different neuronal types in the human retina and these form the components of