Z. Jimmy Zhou, PhD
Marvin L. Sears Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Professor of NeuroscienceDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Vice Chairman and Director of Research, Ophthalmology and Visual Science
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Ophthalmology
Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, Suite 8100
New Haven, CT 06510
United States
Appointments
Additional Titles
Vice Chairman and Director of Research, Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Contact Info
Ophthalmology
Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, Suite 8100
New Haven, CT 06510
United States
Appointments
Additional Titles
Vice Chairman and Director of Research, Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Contact Info
Ophthalmology
Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, Suite 8100
New Haven, CT 06510
United States
About
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Titles
Marvin L. Sears Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Professor of Neuroscience
Vice Chairman and Director of Research, Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Appointments
Ophthalmology
ProfessorPrimaryCellular & Molecular Physiology
ProfessorSecondaryNeuroscience
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Cellular & Molecular Physiology
- Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Physiology
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience Track
- Ophthalmology
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- PhD
- University of Houston (1989)
- MSc
- University of Houston (1984)
- BS
- Fudan University (1982)
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- UCLA
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Neurobiology; Ophthalmology; Physiology; Retina; Retinal Diseases
ORCID
0000-0002-3739-6235
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Z. Jimmy Zhou's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Z. Jimmy Zhou's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Z. Jimmy Zhou is interested in exploring.
Brian Hafler, MD, PhD
Marcello DiStasio, MD, PhD
Seunghoon Lee, PhD
Yao Xue
9Publications
896Citations
Publications
2025
SARS-CoV-2 induces Alzheimer’s disease–related amyloid-β pathology in ex vivo human retinal explants and retinal organoids
Miller S, Dhodapkar R, Sutova H, Xue Y, Lee S, Logan R, Ran C, Bhatta S, Gomm A, Ju I, Heyang M, Darji R, DiStasio M, Tanzi R, Zhang C, Zhou Z, Hafler B. SARS-CoV-2 induces Alzheimer’s disease–related amyloid-β pathology in ex vivo human retinal explants and retinal organoids. Science Advances 2025, 11: eads5006. PMID: 40614201, PMCID: PMC12227045, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads5006.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAmyloid-bSpike 1 proteinPathogen infectionImmune response to pathogen infectionResponse to pathogen infectionInnate immune response to pathogen infectionEtiology of Alzheimer's diseaseExtracellular protein aggregatesSARS-CoV-2 spike 1 proteinAlzheimer's diseasePharmacological inhibitionPresence of microbesAmyloid plaquesAntimicrobial hypothesisProtein aggregationSARS-CoV-2Inhibition of neuropilin-1Electrophysiologically active neuronsHuman retinal explantsMicrobesRetinal organoidsAlzheimerRetinal explantsNeuropilin-1Human retinal organoids
2020
A retinal circuit for the suppressed-by-contrast receptive field of a polyaxonal amacrine cell
Jia Y, Lee S, Zhuo Y, Zhou ZJ. A retinal circuit for the suppressed-by-contrast receptive field of a polyaxonal amacrine cell. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2020, 117: 9577-9583. PMID: 32273387, PMCID: PMC7196907, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1913417117.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPolyaxonal amacrine cellsAmacrine cellsGanglion cellsReceptive fieldsRetinal output neuronsTrigger featuresVGluT3 cellsRetinal activityCell dendritesRetinal circuitsLocal controlIntricate circuitryDownstream circuitsOutput neuronsDifferent subpopulationsRetinaDifferential connectivityDistal tipForm of crosstalkCellsDiverse populationsVisual processingCritical roleGlycinergicAmacrine
2017
Local synaptic integration enables ON-OFF asymmetric and layer-specific visual information processing in vGluT3 amacrine cell dendrites
Chen M, Lee S, Zhou ZJ. Local synaptic integration enables ON-OFF asymmetric and layer-specific visual information processing in vGluT3 amacrine cell dendrites. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2017, 114: 11518-11523. PMID: 28973895, PMCID: PMC5664540, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1711622114.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsInner plexiform layerAmacrine cellsSynaptic inhibitionSegregation of ONVGluT3 amacrine cellsGanglion cell typesBipolar cell terminalsSmall-field amacrine cellsOFF sublayersDendritic varicositiesPlexiform layerReceptive field sizeSynaptic processingSynaptic integrationDendritic responsesMammalian retinaOFF segregationNeuronal organizationTwo-photon imagingDendritic treeIPL depthOFF pathwaysCell terminalsDendritic functionVisual information processing
2016
Segregated Glycine-Glutamate Co-transmission from vGluT3 Amacrine Cells to Contrast-Suppressed and Contrast-Enhanced Retinal Circuits
Lee S, Zhang Y, Chen M, Zhou ZJ. Segregated Glycine-Glutamate Co-transmission from vGluT3 Amacrine Cells to Contrast-Suppressed and Contrast-Enhanced Retinal Circuits. Neuron 2016, 90: 27-34. PMID: 26996083, PMCID: PMC4824647, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.02.023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsUniformity detectorsAmacrine cellsGanglion cellsOFF alpha ganglion cellsSpecific synaptic circuitryVGluT3 amacrine cellsAlpha ganglion cellsSeparate neuronal circuitsInhibitory driveExcitatory neurotransmitterSynaptic circuitryGlycinergic synapsesRetinal circuitsMouse retinaNeuronal circuitsSingle interneuronSingle neuronsDale's principleNeuronsNeurotransmittersTrigger featuresCoordinated inhibitionSynapsesGlutamateCells
2014
An Unconventional Glutamatergic Circuit in the Retina Formed by vGluT3 Amacrine Cells
Lee S, Chen L, Chen M, Ye M, Seal RP, Zhou ZJ. An Unconventional Glutamatergic Circuit in the Retina Formed by vGluT3 Amacrine Cells. Neuron 2014, 84: 708-715. PMID: 25456497, PMCID: PMC4254642, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.10.021.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDirection-selective ganglion cellsAmacrine cellsGlutamatergic circuitsGanglion cellsCalcium-dependent glutamate releaseVGluT3 amacrine cellsExcitatory glutamatergic inputGanglion cell activityOFF light responsesReceptive field structureOFF channelsGlutamate releaseGlutamatergic inputsInner retinaExcitatory inputsInhibitory neuronsBipolar cellsMouse retinaCell activityOFF responsesRetinaExcitatory interactionsVertebrate retinaCellsVisual signals
2010
Role of ACh-GABA Cotransmission in Detecting Image Motion and Motion Direction
Lee S, Kim K, Zhou ZJ. Role of ACh-GABA Cotransmission in Detecting Image Motion and Motion Direction. Neuron 2010, 68: 1159-1172. PMID: 21172616, PMCID: PMC3094727, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.031.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDirection-selective ganglion cellsStarburst amacrine cellsGamma-aminobutyric acidGABAergic mechanismsGABAergic synapsesCholinergic inputAmacrine cellsGanglion cellsCholinergic connectionsSynaptic organizationCholinergic synapsesDirection selectivityAcetylcholineLight onsetCotransmissionMotion sensitivitySynapsesHigh levelsCellsCoreleaseVisual signalsRetina
2006
The Synaptic Mechanism of Direction Selectivity in Distal Processes of Starburst Amacrine Cells
Lee S, Zhou ZJ. The Synaptic Mechanism of Direction Selectivity in Distal Processes of Starburst Amacrine Cells. Neuron 2006, 51: 787-799. PMID: 16982423, PMCID: PMC4227911, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.08.007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsStarburst amacrine cellsAmacrine cellsDistal processesSurround inhibitionDirection selectivityCurrent-clamp recordingsCenter-surround receptive field structureExcitatory synaptic inputsGABA release sitesPatch-clamp recordingsReceptive field centerRobust direction selectivityReceptive field structureSurround antagonismInhibitory inputsSynaptic mechanismsSynaptic inputsReciprocal inhibitionProlonged inhibitionStimulus motionInhibitionLight stimulationStimulationField centerCellsA transient network of intrinsically bursting starburst cells underlies the generation of retinal waves
Zheng J, Lee S, Zhou ZJ. A transient network of intrinsically bursting starburst cells underlies the generation of retinal waves. Nature Neuroscience 2006, 9: 363-371. PMID: 16462736, DOI: 10.1038/nn1644.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and Concepts
2004
A Developmental Switch in the Excitability and Function of the Starburst Network in the Mammalian Retina
Zheng JJ, Lee S, Zhou ZJ. A Developmental Switch in the Excitability and Function of the Starburst Network in the Mammalian Retina. Neuron 2004, 44: 851-864. PMID: 15572115, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.11.015.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsStarburst cellsGABAergic synapsesStarburst networkDual patch-clamp recordingsSpontaneous retinal wavesPatch-clamp recordingsVisual system developmentNicotinic synapsesNetwork excitabilityRetinal wavesRabbit retinaMammalian retinaRecurrent excitationSynapsesDependent mannerGABAExcitabilityRetinaCellsCa2Early developmentCoreleaseExcitatoryNicotinicACh
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- On the cover: Motion and motion direction, illustrated here by the movement of six pool balls in a "starburst shot," are first detected in the retina by a synaptic circuit involving starburst amacrine cells (shown with Lucifer yellow filling). In this issue, Lee et al. show that starburst cells corelease ACh and GABA onto direction-selective ganglion cells at spatially symmetric cholinergic and spatially asymmetric GABAergic synapses, respectively. The cholinergic transmission facilitates motion detection, while the GABAergic transmission mediates direction selectivity.
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Ophthalmology
Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, Suite 8100
New Haven, CT 06510
United States
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New Haven, CT 06511
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