Jonathan B. Demb PhD

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and of Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Research Interests

Neuroscience; Functional circuitry of the retina; Cellular basis of visual adaptation; Neural plasticity; Mechanisms of retinal disease

Current Projects

Current projects include: elucidating the role of NMDA receptors in visual processing; parallel pathways connecting rod photoreceptors to ganglion cells; cellular basis of visual adaptation; mechanisms of retinal disease.

Research Summary

The broad goal of my laboratory is to understand how information isprocessed by the central nervous system (CNS) at the level of specific cell types and circuits. As our model system, we are working on the mammalian retina. The retina has a clear role in behavior, and many of itscell types and circuits are well defined. Furthermore, retina is one area of the CNS that can be studied in vitro while presenting the natural stimulus it was designed to encode.

We primarily study functional circuitry by whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology of identified retinal cell types. Specific cell types can be labeled with fluorescent markers (transgenic and viral approaches) and visualized in living tissue (2-photon microscopy). We perform quantitative analysis of cellular morphology and synaptic connections (confocal microscopy); and functional properties of light-evoked responses (computational modeling).

Selected Publications

  • Weick M, Demb JB (2011). Delayed rectifier Potassium channels contribute to contrast adaptation in mammalian retinal ganglion cells. Neuron, 71: 166-179.
  • Wang YV, Weick M, Demb JB (2011). Spectral and temporal sensitivity of cone-mediated responses in mouse retinal ganglion cells. Journal of Neuroscience, 31: 7670-7681.
  • Manookin MB, Weick M, Stafford BK, Demb JB (2010). NMDA receptor contributions to visual contrast coding. Neuron, 67: 280-293.
  • Manookin MB, Beaudoin DL, Ernst ZR, Flagel LJ, Demb JB (2008). Disinhibition combines with excitation to extend the operating range of the OFF visual pathway in daylight. Journal of Neuroscience 28: 4136-4150.
  • Beaudoin DL, Borghuis BG, Demb JB (2007). Cellular basis for contrast gain control over the receptive field center of mammalian retinal ganglion cells. Journal of Neuroscience 27: 2636-2645.
  • Manookin MB, Demb JB (2006). Presynaptic mechanism for slow contrast adaptation in mammalian retinal ganglion cells. Neuron 50: 453-464.

Edit Profile