Adaptation is a very important aspect of normal healthy vision.
In the mammalian retina the principal mechanisms for regulating the sensitivity of the rod pathway reside in the neural apparatus beyond the photoreceptor transduction apparatus. These changes involve modifications in the strengths of the connections between cells and in the speed with which signals are processed by the retina. They are a fundamental part of being able to see both at night and during the day. The neural mechanisms of adaptation are of great interest not only because of their importance for vision but also because of their possible relationship to the changes in neural circuitry that are critical to the neural plasticity that underlies higher mental functions such as learning and memory. For the past several years Dr. Green has been developing an isolated retinal preparation suitable for studying retinal adaptation in the mammalian retina.