All visual information is encoded in the form of sequences of action potentials traveling down the optic nerve. My laboratory is interested in cracking this neural code and thus being able to "read" the visual messages sent from the eye to the brain. By understanding the neural code of the retina in detail, it will also be possible to describe the computations carried out within this three-layer neural circuit.

Experimentally, we use a multi-electrode array to record simultaneously from many ganglion cells, the output neurons of the retina, as complex visual stimuli are presented. Information theory and other quantitative techniques allow precise descriptions of the neural code. Comparisons to visual behavior serve as a test of how the animal uses visual information encoded by the retina. The goal of these investigations is both to understand the first processing stage in the visual pathway and elucidate general properties of neural circuits.