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Ning Tian, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Associate Professor of Neurobiology
330 Cedar Street; BML 213
Post Box 208061
New Haven, CT 06520-8061
(203) 785-2723 Phone
(203) 785-7401 Fax
ning.tian@yale.edu
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Research Interests:
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The long-term goals of my research are to understand the neurobiological mechanisms by which visual stimuli are processed in the retina and how these mechanisms can be modulated under normal and pathological conditions. One of the primary goals of my current research is to understand how the synaptic pathways are formed in the developing retina. Toward this end, we have used electrophysiological and anatomical approaches to examine the changes of synaptic activity and dendritic morphology and found that retinal ganglion cell synaptic inputs and dendritic stratification patterns are developmentally regulated. Based on the results obtained from wild type animals, we have been able to examine the developmental regulation of ganglion cell dendritic morphology and activity in transgenic mice with altered neurotransmitter or receptor expression. Another primary goal is to determine the roles of visual experience on the development of synaptic activity in retina and to understand the mechanisms of experience-dependent synaptic regulation. We found that light deprivation produces a reversible suppression of inner retinal synaptic activity with little effect on outer retina. Hypotheses related to the experience-dependent synaptic regulations will be tested using appropriate transgenic mice. |
Selected Publications:
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Tian, N. and Copenhagen, D.R. (2003). Visual stimulation is required for refinement of ON and OFF pathways in postnatal retina. Neuron 39(1):85-96.
Tian, N. and Copenhagen, R.D. (2001). Visual deprivation alters development of synaptic function in inner retina after eye opening. Neuron 32:439-449.
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