Retinal Ganglion Cells as Feature Extractors

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Retinal ganglion cells, of which there are about 20 different types in humans, serve as feature extractors in the visual system. Each cell type functions as a photoshop filter, selecting and transmitting specific information from the visual scene to the brain. The various ganglion cell types pick out different features such as spatial detail, movement in the visual world, and color sensations captured from photoreceptor cells. Consequently, the retina creates about 20 distinct representations of the visual world, each highlighting specific aspects like edges or colors.

In this episode, my guest is Dr. E.J. Chichilnisky, Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Stanford University. He studies how we see and uses that information to build artificial eyes that restore vision to the blind.

We discuss how understanding the retina (the light-sensing brain tissue that lines the back of our eyes) is critical to knowing how our brain works more generally.

We discuss brain augmentation with biologically informed prostheses, robotics, and AI and what this means for medicine and humanity.

We also discuss E.J.’s unique journey into neuroscience and how changing fields multiple times, combined with some wandering, taught him how to guide his decision-making in all realms of life.

This episode ought to be of interest to anyone interested in learning how the brain works from a world-class neuroscientist, those interested in the future of brain therapeutics and people seeking inspiration and tools for navigating their own professional and life journey.

For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com.