Bickford Lab
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About
The Bickford lab studies synaptic circuits involved in transmitting visual signals and initiating appropriate motor responses to visual stimuli. We are particularly interested in pathways that involve the superior colliculus, pretectum, and visual thalamus. Techniques used in our lab include anatomical tract tracing using traditional tracers and viral vectors, electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, optogenetics, chemogenetics, whole cell recording from neurons in an in vitro slice preparation, in vivo extracellular recording, and behavioral analyses. The goal of these studies is to elucidate the normal mechanisms underlying visual signal transmission, as a first step toward understanding disorders that involve central visual pathways.
Key Research Areas
- Visual pathways
- Synaptic circuits
- Optogenetics
- Electrophysiology
- Confocal Microcopy
- Electron Microscopy
Current Projects
- Midbrain circuits for perceptual decision-making 1UF1NS122040
- Parallel Pulvinar Pathways 5R01EY031322
- The Influence of the Pretectum on the Visual Thalamus 1R01EY035523
Recent Publications
- Cell-type specific binocular interactions in mouse visual thalamus. Masterson SP, Govindaiah G, Guido W, Bickford ME. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Jul 16:2024.07.12.603141. doi: 10.1101/2024.07.12.603141. PMID: 39071360 Free PMC article. Preprint.
- Synaptic properties of mouse tecto-parabigeminal pathways. Whyland KL, Masterson SP, Slusarczyk AS, Bickford ME. Front Syst Neurosci. 2023 May 12;17:1181052. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1181052. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37251004 Free PMC article.
- The parabigeminal nucleus is a source of "retinogeniculate replacement terminals" in mice that lack retinofugal input. Whyland KL, Hernandez Y, Slusarczyk AS, Guido W, Bickford ME. J Comp Neurol. 2022 Dec;530(18):3179-3192. doi: 10.1002/cne.25401. Epub 2022 Sep 6. PMID: 36066425 Free PMC article.
- Ultrastructure of ipsilateral and contralateral tectopulvinar projections in the mouse. Naeem N, Whitley JB, Slusarczyk AS, Bickford ME. J Comp Neurol. 2022 May;530(7):1099-1111. doi: 10.1002/cne.25264. Epub 2021 Oct 24. PMID: 34636423 Free PMC article.
Team
- Ark Slusarczyk, Lab Manager, 502-852-5181
- Sean Masterson, Researcher
- David Alston, Computing Research Engineer III
- James Whitley, PhD Candidate
- Naz Naeem, PhD Candidate
- Chase Boone, PhD Candidate
- Kierra Mason, PhD Candidate