scholarly journals The structural correlate of the receptive field centre of alpha ganglion cells in the cat retina.

1983 ◽  
Vol 341 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Peichl ◽  
H Wässle
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Structural Correlate ◽  
Receptive Field Centre ◽  
Cat Retina

Receptive field mechanisms of ganglion cells in the cat retina

1985 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihisa Fukushima ◽  
Ken-ichi Hara ◽  
Masayuki Kimura
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Cat Retina

Morphological correlates of physiologically identified Y-, X-, and W-cells in cat retina

1984 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 999-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Fukuda ◽  
C. F. Hsiao ◽  
M. Watanabe ◽  
H. Ito
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Fiber Layer ◽  
Dendritic Field ◽  
Cat Retina ◽  
Range Cell ◽  
Dendritic Fields ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Y Cells

The action spike activities of single ganglion cells were recorded from the nasal retina of the intact eye of anesthetized and immobilized cats. Each ganglion cell was identified as a Y-, X-, or W-cell on the basis of its axonal conduction velocity, its receptive-field properties, and the level of maintained activity. Of about 100 ganglion cells physiologically identified and penetrated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-containing glass microelectrodes, 21 cells were subsequently identified in flat-mount preparations of the retinas and processed for detection of HRP. Of a total of nine Y-cells recovered, four had been penetrated at the soma and five at the axon. All had the morphology of the alpha-cell of Boycott and Wassle. Eight X-cells recovered. All had been penetrated at the soma and showed beta-cell morphology. Four W-cells were penetrated at the soma and recovered. Two off-tonic W-cells had small somas (15-16 micron in diam) and sparse dendritic fields, resembling gamma-cells of Boycott and Wassle. They are also similar to “G4” and “G18” of Kolb et al.'s classification. One on-tonic W-cell had somewhat larger soma (18 micron) with a relatively densely branched dendritic field. This corresponds to delta-cell of Boycott and Wassle or to “G15” of Kolb et al. One on-off phasic W-cell had a medium-sized soma (25.3 micron) with a fanlike dendritic expansion characteristic of the “unilateral horizontal broad range cell” of Shkolnik-Yarros or of “G22” of Kolb et al. Alternatively, all these W-cells can be called medium-sized gamma-cells. Among all three classes of ganglion cells, a positive correlation was found between the diameter of the receptive-field center and the dendritic field. Assuming that in the cat retina 1 degree of visual angle = 230 micron, dendritic fields of Y-cells seemed larger than their physiologically determined receptive-field centers. By contrast, the reverse relation was found between these two dimensions in X-cells. Axon diameters ranged from 4.0 to 5.6 micron (mean, 4.5 micron) in Y-cells and from 1.9 to 2.7 micron (mean, 2.2 micron) in X-cells. Three W-cells showed axon diameters of 0.6, 1.1, and 1.8 micron. The axon diameter distributions made from axons labeled by massive injections of HRP into the optic nerve fiber layer showed a pattern of distribution similar to that obtained from physiologically identified Y-, X-, and W-cell axons.

X-cells in the cat retina: relationships between the morphology and physiology of a class of cat retinal ganglion cells

1987 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 940-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. R. Stanford
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Cat Retina ◽  
Area Centralis ◽  
Dendritic Arbors ◽  
X Cells ◽  
The Relationship

1. The morphology of 21 physiologically characterized X-cells in the cat retina was studied using intracellular recording and injection with horseradish peroxidase. The data from these experiments were used to test directly the relationships between specific structural and functional characteristics of a sample of individual retinal ganglion cells of the same anatomical and physiological class. Where possible, the response properties of 53 other retinal X-cells that were not successfully injected and recovered are compared with those of the labeled sample. These comparisons, which included conduction velocities (both intraretinal and extraretinal) and receptive-field size, indicate that the labeled X-cells are a representative sample of the population of retinal X-cells at corresponding eccentricities. 2. The somata of this group of injected retinal X-cells increase in size with increasing distance from the area centralis up to 13 degrees eccentricity (the greatest distance from the area centralis at which an X-cell was injected and recovered). The soma sizes of this sample of retinal ganglion cells range from 143.5 to 529.9 micron 2 (diam = 13.5-26.0 micron). Comparison of the soma sizes of the injected and recovered retinal X-cells with those of 300 Nissl-stained neurons at comparable eccentricities in the same retinae indicate that the injected sample had soma sizes that are consistent with their classification as "medium-sized" retinal ganglion cells (5, 69, 74). 3. All of the physiologically characterized retinal X-cells of this study have the compact dendritic arbors described to the morphological class of retinal ganglion cell called beta-cells by Boycott and Wassle (5). The dendrites of some of these neurons have many spinelike appendages, whereas those of other cells are nearly appendage free. We found no obvious correlation between the presence of dendritic appendages and any specific response characteristic ("ON-" or "OFF-center", etc). Like the size of the soma, both the diameter of the dendritic arbors of these cells, and the number of primary dendrites (those dendrites that originate directly from the soma), increase with increasing distance from the area centralis. 4. Since both morphological and physiological data were obtained for these neurons, it is possible to describe the relationship between the size of the receptive-field center and the diameter of the dendritic arbor for individual retinal ganglion cells. These comparisons show that the relationship between the anatomical measure and this response parameter for the entire sample of labeled X-cells is not as strong as had previously been suggested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Structure and function of neural networks in the retina

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 26-27
Author(s):  
Peter Sterling
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Synaptic Connections ◽  
Visual Axis ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Cat Retina ◽  
Ultrathin Sections ◽  
And Function ◽  
Insight Into

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.

scholarly journals Spatial receptive field properties of rat retinal ganglion cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 403-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
WALTER F. HEINE ◽  
CHRISTOPHER L. PASSAGLIA
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
X And Y Cells ◽  
Y Cells

AbstractThe rat is a popular animal model for vision research, yet there is little quantitative information about the physiological properties of the cells that provide its brain with visual input, the retinal ganglion cells. It is not clear whether rats even possess the full complement of ganglion cell types found in other mammals. Since such information is important for evaluating rodent models of visual disease and elucidating the function of homologous and heterologous cells in different animals, we recorded from rat ganglion cells in vivo and systematically measured their spatial receptive field (RF) properties using spot, annulus, and grating patterns. Most of the recorded cells bore likeness to cat X and Y cells, exhibiting brisk responses, center-surround RFs, and linear or nonlinear spatial summation. The others resembled various types of mammalian W cell, including local-edge-detector cells, suppressed-by-contrast cells, and an unusual type with an ON–OFF surround. They generally exhibited sluggish responses, larger RFs, and lower responsiveness. The peak responsivity of brisk-nonlinear (Y-type) cells was around twice that of brisk-linear (X-type) cells and several fold that of sluggish cells. The RF size of brisk-linear and brisk-nonlinear cells was indistinguishable, with average center and surround diameters of 5.6 ± 1.3 and 26.4 ± 11.3 deg, respectively. In contrast, the center diameter of recorded sluggish cells averaged 12.8 ± 7.9 deg. The homogeneous RF size of rat brisk cells is unlike that of cat X and Y cells, and its implication regarding the putative roles of these two ganglion cell types in visual signaling is discussed.

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