Investigation of how different brain regions interact with visual processing in the thalamus
The Thalamic Circuits group by Fiona Müllner investigates how visual information is processed by the brain, and how the brain actively modifies this information. We use a combination of cutting-edge methods in the mouse model, including two-photon imaging, advanced viral tracing, single-cell manipulation in vivo, and electrophysiology.
Thalamic circuits for visual processing
The thalamus is a deep brain region that integrates sensory inputs. The primary visual thalamus – the dorsolateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) – sends visual information received from the retina to the cortex. Yet, only 10% of its inputs are of retinal origin. Amongst the extraretinal inputs a variety of inhibitory sources are well placed to limit, dampen, delay, or sharpen information flow. We seek to understand:
How do diverse signals from the retina get transformed into the visual features sent to cortex?
How do local interneurons, sparse but powerful inhibitory cells, shape and refine these visual streams?
How do inputs from other brain regions – bringing in signals related to attention, arousal or behavioral context – change the way the dLGN shapes visual information?
Available projects
Starting 2025, the Müllner group will have projects available for postdocs, Ph.D. and master students, funded by the Lundbeck Foundation and the ERC starting grant “ActiVisTha”. Please contact Fiona directly at fiona.muellner@dandrite.au.dk.
