In vivo evaluation of inner and outer retinal water transport associated with light activation of photoreceptors after dark adaptation in mice

The development of functional retinal imaging is of great interest to clinical and experimental ophthalmology. Recent progress in OCT-based functional imaging of rods and/or cones outer segments elongations in response to stimuli that bleach fraction of their rhodopsin promises to address the need for probing photoreceptor function. Building on this model, we developed the framework to monitor changes in the gross morphology of the whole retina of mice in response to light stimulation. In our current submission, we will discuss our findings in the context of known retinal water barriers restricting water movements between inner and outer retina.