Interaction between native and prosthetic visual responses in optogenetic visual restoration.

ABSTRACT: Degenerative retinal disorders leading to irreversible photoreceptor death are a common cause of blindness. Optogenetic gene therapy aims to restore vision in affected individuals by introducing light-sensitive opsins into the surviving neurons of the inner retina. While up until now, the main focus of optogenetic therapy has been on terminally blind individuals, treating at stages where residual native vision is present could have several advantages. However, it is still unknown how residual native and optogenetic vision would interact if present at the same time. Using transgenic mice expressing the optogenetic tool ReaChR in ON-bipolar cells, we herein examine this interaction through electroretinography (ERG) and visually evoked potentials (VEP). We find that optogenetic responses show

SUBMITTER: Carpentiero E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12220941 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature