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Neuroscience Graduate Program at UCSF
Genetic Architecture of Visual Perception and Behavior
Our group is exploring the relationships between genes, neural circuits, and behavior in zebrafish. In an unbiased approach, we let biology guide us to the places in the brain and the loci in the genome that are important for functions of the visual system. We are interested in both assembly and function of the neural circuitry that is underlying behavior.
Forward genetic screens carried out in our lab have uncovered over 100 genetic loci, many of which have now been molecularly identified. Mutations of these genes perturb visual processing of visual stimuli and disrupt behavioral responses, often in highly specific ways.
In a complementary approach to forward genetics, we are investigating the neural circuitry underlying visual perception in transgenic fish using remote optical control. Some of the optogenetic effectors we have adapted to the fish system include channelrhodopsin, halorhodopsin, and the light-gated glutamate receptor (LiGluR), which we express in select subpopulations of neurons using the GAL4/UAS system.
One major focus of the lab is on the optic tectum, a prominent visual area in the fish midbrain. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) project their axons from the eye to six layers in the tectum. Each of these layers contains a complete map of the visual environment and probably represents different stimulus features, such as brightness, motion, color, etc. We are interested in the genetic control of RGC differentiation, diversification, and synaptic targeting and in the functional roles of layer-specific connections in the encoding of visual images. Some of the genes studied by us may be used as tools to manipulate the subtype composition, activity, and target specificity of RGCs in transgenic fish.
The exciting task for the future will be to combine mutations and optogenetic manipulations with a detailed psychophysical analysis for the complete dissection of a complex behavioral program.
*Remote optical control of neuronal activity.
*Genetic dissection of visual behavior.
*Psychophysics of visually mediated behaviors.
*Zebrafish models of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Herwig Baier |
PI |
Wendy Staub |
Lab Manager |
Alison Barker |
Graduate Student |
Joe Donovan |
Graduate Student |
Linda Nevin |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Tong Xiao |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Anna Lisa Lucido |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Julie Semmelhack |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Fumi Kubo |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Alessandro Filosa |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Tod Thiele |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Estuardo Robles |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Anne-Sophie de Preux |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Karin Finger-Baier |
Mapping Specialist |
Amanda Tran |
Specialist |
Recent Reviews
Baier H., Scott E. K. Genetic and optical targeting of neural circuits and behavior – zebrafish in the spotlight. Curr. Opinion Neurobiol. 19: 553-560 (2009).
Huberman A.D., Clandinin T.R., Baier H. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of lamina-specific axon targeting. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives Biol. 2: a001743 (2010).
Nevin L.M., Robles E., Baier H., Scott E.K. Focusing on optic tectum circuitry through the lens of genetics. BMC Biology 8: 126 (2010).
Selected original articles
Smear M.C., Tao H.W., Staub W., Orger M.B., Gosse N.J., Liu Y., Takahashi K.D., Poo M.M., Baier H. Vesicular glutamate transport at a central synapse limits the the acuity of visual perception in zebrafish. Neuron 53: 65-77 (2007).
Scott E.K., Mason L., Arrenberg A., Ziv L., Gosse N.J., Xiao T., Chi N.C., Asakawa K., Kawakami K., Baier H. Targeting neural circuitry in zebrafish using GAL4 enhancer trapping. Nature Methods 4: 323-326 (2007).
Szobota S., Gorostiza P., Del Bene F., Wyart C., Fortin D.L., Kolstad K., Tulathan O., Volgraf M., Numano R., Aaron H., Scott E.K., Kramer R., Flannery J., Baier H., Trauner D., Isacoff E.Y. Remote control of neuronal activity with a light-gated glutamate receptor. Neuron 54:535-545 (2007).
Xiao T., Baier H. Lamina-specific axonal projections in the zebrafish tectum require the type IV collagen Dragnet. Nature Neuroscience 10:1529-1537 (2007).
Gosse N.J., Nevin L.M., Baier H. Retinotopic order in the absence of axon competition. Nature 452: 892-895 (2008).
Del Bene F., Wehman A., Link B.A., Baier H. Interkinetic nuclear migration cooperates with Notch signaling to apportion cell fates in the retina. Cell 134: 1055-1065 (2008).
Sumbre G., Muto A., Baier H., Poo M.M. Entrained rhythmic activities of neuronal ensembles as perceptual memory of time interval. Nature 456: 102-106 (2008).
Arrenberg A.B., Del Bene F., Baier H. Optical control of zebrafish behavior with halorhodopsin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 17968-17973 (2009).
Wyart C., Del Bene F., Warp E., Scott E.K., Trauner D., Baier H., Isacoff E.Y. Optogenetic dissection of a behavioral module in the vertebrate spinal cord. Nature 461; 407-410 (2009).
Arrenberg A.B., Stainier D.Y., Baier H., Huisken J. Optogenetic control of cardiac function. Science in press (2010).
Del Bene F., Wyart C., Robles E., Tran A., Looger L., Scott E.K., Isacoff E.Y., Baier H. Filtering of visual information in the tectum by an identified neural circuit. Science in press (2010).
Back to TopHerwig Baier, Ph.D.
Phone
415-502-4301
Physical Address
Rock Hall
1550 4th Street
Room RH-348F
Mailing Address
1550 4th Street
Box 2722
San Francisco, CA 94158-2324
For Internal Campus Mail
Box 2722
Other Websites