Neuroscience Graduate Program Elective Course
Visual Neuroscience Training Program Elective Course

The Retinal Ganglion Cell.

Third Quarter 2007

Course Director:  Nick Marsh-Armstrong, PhD
                             (443) 923-2681
  marsh-armstrong@kennedykrieger.org

Time/Location:  Mondays (Lectures) and Wednesdays (Discussions) 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m
                        January 16 – March 16, 2007
                        Maumenee 501 Conference Room

The course will focus on one cell type, the retinal ganglion cell (RGC).  From the perspective of cell biology, developmental biology, physiology and pathobiology, RGCs share many features with other projection neurons, including a susceptibility to disease.  Thus, this course will be directed not only at students who study the retina, but also to neurobiology students who want to take an in depth and wholistic look at all aspects of neurobiology pertaining to one particular neuron.  The course will take a comprehensive approach to understanding from a cellular and molecular perspective all aspects about the life and death of RGCs.  First, the course will cover the structure and function of RGCs: anatomy, morphology, and physiology or RGCs, focusing on the diversity of RGC subtypes and their interaction with various glial cells.  Second, the course will cover the development of RGCs: how they are specified, how they differentiate, how they sprout processes, how their axons reach central targets, and RGC dependence on trophic support for survival.  The third part of the course will focus of diseases affecting retinal ganglion cells, focusing principally on glaucoma, but also covering other optic neuropathies as well as the response of RGCs to axotomy.  This disease section will draw similarities to other neurodegenerations, and will integrate information regarding the structure/function as well as development parts of the course. 

The course will have the format of lectures on Mondays by experts in the field, followed by student led discussions on Wednesdays.  The discussions will encourage students to critically evaluate the literature, to assess the strength and weaknesses offered by various hypotheses, and to identify important gaps in our current knowledge about these important cells. 

Tentative Schedule

January 15th        Introduction to the development and organization of the retina, with emphasis the inner retina
                           (Marsh-Armstrong)

January 17th.       Introduction to glaucoma and other RGC diseases
                           (Don Zack)

January 22th.       RGC subtypes and their projections.
                           (Samer Hattar)

January 24th.       Student Led Discussion 1: RGCs subtypes and their projections.

January 29th.       RGC interactions with glia.
                           (TBA)

January 31th.      Student Led Discussion 2: RGC interactions with glia.

February 5th.       RGC differentiation.
                           (Seth Blackshaw)

February 7th.       Student Led Discussion 3: RGC differentiation.

February 12th.     RGC Axon guidance.
                           (Marsh-Armstrong)

February 14th.     Student Led Discussion 4: RGC axon guidance.

February 19th.     RGC Axotomy and Regeneration.
                           (Paul Hoffman)

February 21st.     Student Led Discussion 5: RGC Axotomy and Regeneration.

February 26th.     Glaucoma I
                           (Harry Quigley)

February 28th.     Student Led Discussion 6: Glaucoma I.

March 5th.           Other RGC axonopathies
                           (TBA)

March 7th.           Student Led Discussion 7: Other RGC axonopathies

March 12th.         Glaucoma II
                           (Don Zack)

March 14th.         Student Led Discussion 8: Glaucoma II.