Research Interests:
My present research interests concern the physiological activity
of the retina. More specifically, my research is focused on the
information processing of the inner retina, with special emphasis
on the mechanisms by which ganglion cells generate and maintain
tonic firing in response to visual stimuli. Our most recent effort
has been the development of a sophisticated model, based on the
presence of five different, voltage-gated ion channels which have
been localized to these cells with whole-cell recording and pharmacological
experiments. This model faithfully duplicates the nerve impulse
trains seen from physiologically recorded ganglion cells. In collaboration
with experimentalists, we are comparing details of each of the individual
currents with these currents in the intact retina. The objective
of this approach is to determine why ganglion cells need five different
ion channels, whereas the squid axon, as Hodgkin and Huxley described
years ago, needs only two.
Additional research topics are the nerve impulse entrainment in realistically
constructed sensory neurons and the structure and function of ion-channel
proteins. My research is largely carried out using the departmental
computer facilities and the supercomputers here at the University.
Most Cited Papers:
Sheasby B.W., Fohlmeister J.F. (1999) Impulse encoding across
the dendritic morphologies of retinal ganglion cells. J Neurophysiol.
4:1685-98.
Fohlmeister J.F., Miller R.F. (1997) Impulse encoding mechanisms
of ganglion cells in the tiger salamander retina. J Neurophysiol
78: 1935-1947.
Fohlmeister J.F., Miller R.F. (1997) Mechanisms by which cell
geometry controls repetitive impulse firing in retinal ganglion
cells. J Neurophysiol 78: 1948-1964.
Fohlmeister, J.F., Coleman, P.A. and Miller R.F. (1990) Modeling
the repetitive firing of retinal ganglion cells. Brain Research
510: 343-345.
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