From the Eye to the Brain: Current Progress in Elucidating the Neural Circuit Dynamics Underlying Visual Processing

Dear Colleagues,

Novel tools for neuroimaging and neuromodulation have enabled new and transformative scientific discoveries that have advanced translational science. These approaches allow for the monitoring and probing of intact neural networks that can be paired with behavioral experiments and longitudinal monitoring over periods from weeks to years. More recently, these tools have led to a series of fundamental discoveries regarding sensory processing in the periphery (e.g., eye) and brain (e.g., visual cortex) areas of large animals, including, but not limited to, ferrets, non-human primates, and humans. This Special Issue will further explore the latest advances in scientific discoveries in the field of neural processing, using novel methods for neuroimaging and neuromodulation. Through original research, perspectives, and reviews, this Special Issue will focus on elucidating the population mechanisms that underlie sensory processing from the eye to the brain using state-of-the-art methodology. Topics suitable for this Special Issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Using neuroimaging methods (e.g., calcium imaging, functional ultrasound, and sonogenetics) to study the neural dynamics of cell-class-specific populations in vivo;
• Using neuromodulation methods (e.g., optogenetics, DREADDs, BL-OG, and focused ultrasound) to causally test the role of neural populations in perception and action;
• The development of novel optical and molecular biology tools to assist in imaging and neuromodulating the dynamics of large-scale neural populations in vivo;
• Machine learning methods to analyze large-scale neural datasets.

We are particularly interested in submissions that highlight the use of cutting-edge research in large-brain animals (e.g., ferrets, non-human primates, and humans) and submissions that incorporate multimodal tools to study neural processing from different (but complimentary) perspectives.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Manuel Gomez-Ramirez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• calcium imaging
• optogenetics
• ultrasound
• 2-photon imaging
• non-human primates
• humans
• optics
• neurons
• dendrites