Pupil size modulation drives retinal activity in mice and shapes human perception

Tjasa Lapanja, Pietro Micheli, Andrés González-Guerra, Oleksandr Radomskyi, Gioia Franceschi, Anna Muraveva, Alexander Attinger, Chiara Nina Roth, Matteo Tripodi, Tom Boissonnet, Marina Sabbadini, Josephine Jüttner, Petri Ala-Laurila, Georg Keller, Gabriel Peinado Allina, Hiroki Asari and Santiago B. Rompani ()
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Tjasa Lapanja: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Pietro Micheli: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Andrés González-Guerra: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Oleksandr Radomskyi: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Gioia Franceschi: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Anna Muraveva: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Alexander Attinger: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Chiara Nina Roth: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Matteo Tripodi: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Tom Boissonnet: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Marina Sabbadini: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Josephine Jüttner: Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel
Petri Ala-Laurila: Aalto University
Georg Keller: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research
Gabriel Peinado Allina: Aalto University
Hiroki Asari: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Santiago B. Rompani: European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract Retinal adaptation is assisted by the pupil, with pupil contraction and dilation thought to prevent global light changes from triggering neuronal activity in the retina. However, we find that pupillary constriction from increased light, the pupillary light reflex (PLR), can drive strong responses in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in vivo in mice. The PLR drives neural activity in all RGC types, and pupil-driven activity is relayed to the visual cortex. Furthermore, the consensual PLR allows one eye to respond to luminance changes presented to the other eye, leading to a binocular response and modulation during low-amplitude luminance changes. To test if pupil-induced activity is consciously perceived, we performed psychophysics on human volunteers, finding a perceptual dimming consistent with PLR-induced responses in mice. Our findings thus uncover that pupillary dynamics can directly induce visual activity that is consciously detectable, suggesting an active role for the pupil in encoding perceived ambient luminance.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62736-4

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