Rabbits and the Retina

Here in Sao Paulo, I have been learning about and working with ERG. This stands for electroretinogram and is a method of evaluating the functionality of the retina. The first week in the lab was spent getting to know the environment, and the flow of things. Once settled in, my supervisor Gabriela began to teach me how to conduct an ERG on an animal; particularly rabbits! Because my first encounter with a rodent such as this, watching the procedure was pretty exciting! As week 1 came to a close, I was given my first big task: give a 20-minute, 20 slide presentation on ERG. Who knew that those simple instructions would be such a challenge! Over the weekend and up until Wednesday of week 2 I researched and practiced my presentation. Before I presentation date came, I was also able to conduct a few ERGs of my own, under the supervision of Gabriela and Andre, a post doc student, of course. With all of the research I could find and the little experience I gained that week, I presented a PowerPoint slide on the subject in front of the entire lab! The most important thing to know about electroretinograms, is what they record. Yes, the function of the retina is analyzed in the recordings, but which parts of the retina?! In the ERG recording below, from an actual experiment of mine, 2 waves can be seen. An a wave, and a b wave. Each wave, combined, makes up the complete function of an ERG recording. Each wave reflects the response from different portions of the retina! For example, the response of the photoreceptors, rods and cones, make up the a wave. Although I would like to go into more detail about how ERG works, why we use it, how to measure the amplitudes of the waves, and other important features of this experiment I want to save a little surprise for the next update! This past week, I've upgraded a bit. I am now able to conduct an ERG on my own, as well as analyze the data on my own. Next week I am presenting again, thankfully, only in front of my supervisor. My knowledge of ERG is increasing, my understanding of the subject is also increasing. I become more and more interested in the subject daily. Who knows what's in store for me next!

From left to right: baseline, (negative) a wave, (positive) b wave.