Subgroup of alpha ganglion cells in the adult cat retina is immunoreactive for somatostatin

1991 ◽  
Vol 304 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. White ◽  
L. M. Chalupa
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Chouinard

In Helly-fixed cerebella, the toluidine blue – molybdate staining procedure reveals the existence of four distinct types of ribonucleoprotein in both the Purkinje cells of the vermian zone and the multipolar ganglion cells of the fastigial nucleus. These four types of ribonucleoprotein are found in, respectively, the ground substance (nucleolar matrix) of the nucleolus, the intranucleolar vacuoles (nucleolini), the intranuclear paranucleolar masses, and the cytoplasmic Nissl bodies. The relevant observational evidence suggests that the two organelles of the nucleolar apparatus, that is, the nucleolus and paranucleolar masses together with their associated chromocenters, are concerned with distinct synthetic activities with regard to the elaboration of neuronal ribonucleic acids or ribonucleoproteins. The significance of the above findings is discussed in the light of current concepts pertaining to cellular ribonucleoprotein metabolism.


1985 ◽  
Vol 224 (1237) ◽  
pp. 475-488 ◽  

When cat retina is incubated in vitro with the fluorescent dye, 4',6- diamidino-2-phenyl-indole (DAPI), a uniform population of neurons is brightly labelled at the inner border of the inner nuclear layer. The dendritic morphology of the DAPI-labelled cells was defined by iontophoretic injection of Lucifer yellow under direct microscopic control: all the filled cells had the narrow-field bistratified morphology that is distinctive of the A ll amacrine cells previously described from Golgistained retinae. Although the A ll amacrines are principal interneurons in the rod-signal pathway, their density distribution does not follow the topography of the rod receptors, but peaks in the central area like the cone receptors and the ganglion cells. There are some 512000 A ll amacrines in the cat retina and their density ranges from 500 cells per square millimetre at the superior margin to 5300 cells per square millimetre in the centre (retinal area is 450 mm2). The isodensity contours are kite-shaped, particularly at intermediate densities, with a horizontal elongation towards nasal retina. The cell body size and the dendritic dimensions of A ll amacrines increase with decreasing cell density. The lobular dendrites in sublamina a of the inner plexiform layer span a restricted field of 16—45 pm diameter, while the arboreal dendrites in sublamina b form a varicose tree of 18—95 pm diameter. The dendritic field coverage of the lobular appendages is close to 1.0 (+ 0.2) at all eccentricities whereas the coverage of the arboreal dendrites doubles within the first 1.5 mm and then remains constant at 3.8 ( + 0.7) throughout the periphery.


2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (7) ◽  
pp. 2008-2023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond C. S. Wong ◽  
Shaun L. Cloherty ◽  
Michael R. Ibbotson ◽  
Brendan J. O'Brien

Mammalian retina contains 15–20 different retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types, each of which is responsible for encoding different aspects of the visual scene. The encoding is defined by a combination of RGC synaptic inputs, the neurotransmitter systems used, and their intrinsic physiological properties. Each cell's intrinsic properties are defined by its morphology and membrane characteristics, including the complement and localization of the ion channels expressed. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that the intrinsic properties of individual RGC types are conserved among mammalian species. To do so, we measured the intrinsic properties of 16 morphologically defined rat RGC types and compared these data with cat RGC types. Our data demonstrate that in the rat different morphologically defined RGC types have distinct patterns of intrinsic properties. Variation in these properties across cell types was comparable to that found for cat RGC types. When presumed morphological homologs in rat and cat retina were compared directly, some RGC types had very similar properties. The rat A2 cell exhibited patterns of intrinsic properties nearly identical to the cat alpha cell. In contrast, rat D2 cells (ON-OFF directionally selective) had a very different pattern of intrinsic properties than the cat iota cell. Our data suggest that the intrinsic properties of RGCs with similar morphology and suspected visual function may be subject to variation due to the behavioral needs of the species.


2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
BOZENA FYK-KOLODZIEJ ◽  
PU QIN ◽  
ARTURIK DZHAGARYAN ◽  
ROBERTA G. POURCHO

Retrieval of glutamate from extracellular sites in the retina involves at least five excitatory amino acid transporters. Immunocytochemical analysis of the cat retina indicates that each of these transporters exhibits a selective distribution which may reflect its specific function. The uptake of glutamate into Müller cells or astrocytes appears to depend upon GLAST and EAAT4, respectively. Staining for EAAT4 was also seen in the pigment epithelium. The remaining transporters are neuronal with GLT-1α localized to a number of cone bipolar, amacrine, and ganglion cells and GLT-1v in cone photoreceptors and several populations of bipolar cells. The EAAC1 transporter was found in horizontal, amacrine, and ganglion cells. Staining for EAAT5 was seen in the axon terminals of both rod and cone photoreceptors as well as in numerous amacrine and ganglion cells. Although some of the glutamate transporter molecules are positioned for presynaptic or postsynaptic uptake at glutamatergic synapses, others with localizations more distant from such contacts may serve in modulatory roles or provide protection against excitoxic or oxidative damage.


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