Functional Circuitry for Peripheral Suppression in Mammalian Y-Type Retinal Ganglion Cells

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 4327-4340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kareem A. Zaghloul ◽  
Michael B. Manookin ◽  
Bart G. Borghuis ◽  
Kwabena Boahen ◽  
Jonathan B. Demb
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Voltage Clamp ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
High Spatial Frequency ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion

A retinal ganglion cell receptive field is made up of an excitatory center and an inhibitory surround. The surround has two components: one driven by horizontal cells at the first synaptic layer and one driven by amacrine cells at the second synaptic layer. Here we characterized how amacrine cells inhibit the center response of on- and off-center Y-type ganglion cells in the in vitro guinea pig retina. A high spatial frequency grating (4–5 cyc/mm), beyond the spatial resolution of horizontal cells, drifted in the ganglion cell receptive field periphery to stimulate amacrine cells. The peripheral grating suppressed the ganglion cell spiking response to a central spot. Suppression of spiking was strongest and observed most consistently in off cells. In intracellular recordings, the grating suppressed the subthreshold membrane potential in two ways: a reduced slope (gain) of the stimulus-response curve by ∼20–30% and, in off cells, a tonic ∼1-mV hyperpolarization. In voltage clamp, the grating increased an inhibitory conductance in all cells and simultaneously decreased an excitatory conductance in off cells. To determine whether center response inhibition was presynaptic or postsynaptic (shunting), we measured center response gain under voltage-clamp and current-clamp conditions. Under both conditions, the peripheral grating reduced center response gain similarly. This result suggests that reduced gain in the ganglion cell subthreshold center response reflects inhibition of presynaptic bipolar terminals. Thus amacrine cells suppressed ganglion cell center response gain primarily by inhibiting bipolar cell glutamate release.

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.

Development of cholinergic amacrine cell stratification in the ferret retina and the effects of early excitotoxic ablation

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.E. REESE ◽  
M.A. RAVEN ◽  
K.A. GIANNOTTI ◽  
P.T. JOHNSON
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Retinal Cell ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Outer Border ◽  
Cholinergic Amacrine Cells

The present study has examined the emergence of cholinergic stratification within the developing inner plexiform layer (IPL), and the effect of ablating the cholinergic amacrine cells on the formation of other stratifications within the IPL. The population of cholinergic amacrine cells in the ferret's retina was identified as early as the day of birth, but their processes did not form discrete strata until the end of the first postnatal week. As development proceeded over the next five postnatal weeks, so the positioning of the cholinergic strata shifted within the IPL toward the outer border, indicative of the greater ingrowth and elaboration of processes within the innermost parts of the IPL. To examine whether these cholinergic strata play an instructive role upon the development of other stratifications which form within the IPL, one-week-old ferrets were treated with l-glutamate in an attempt to ablate the population of cholinergic amacrine cells. Such treatment was shown to be successful, eliminating all of the cholinergic amacrine cells as well as the alpha retinal ganglion cells in the central retina. The remaining ganglion cell classes as well as a few other retinal cell types were partially reduced, while other cell types were not affected, and neither retinal histology nor areal growth was compromised in these ferrets. Despite this early loss of the cholinergic amacrine cells, which are eliminated within 24 h, other stratifications within the IPL formed normally, as they do following early elimination of the entire ganglion cell population. While these cholinergic amacrine cells are present well before other cell types have differentiated, apparently neither they, nor the ganglion cells, play a role in determining the depth of stratification for other retinal cell types.

The Retina of Asian and African Elephants: Comparison of Newborn and Adult

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidrun Kuhrt ◽  
Andreas Bringmann ◽  
Wolfgang Härtig ◽  
Gudrun Wibbelt ◽  
Leo Peichl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glutamine Synthetase ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Glial Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Contrast Perception ◽  
First Time

Elephants are precocial mammals that are relatively mature as newborns and mobile shortly after birth. To determine whether the retina of newborn elephants is capable of supporting the mobility of elephant calves, we compared the retinal structures of 2 newborn elephants (1 African and 1 Asian) and 2 adult animals of both species by immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. For the first time, we present here a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative characterization of the cellular composition of the newborn and the adult retinas of 2 elephant species. We found that the retina of elephants is relatively mature at birth. All retinal layers were well discernible, and various retinal cell types were detected in the newborns, including Müller glial cells (expressing glutamine synthetase and cellular retinal binding protein; CRALBP), cone photoreceptors (expressing S-opsin or M/L-opsin), protein kinase Cα-expressing bipolar cells, tyrosine hydroxylase-, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-, calbindin-, and calretinin-expressing amacrine cells, and calbindin-expressing horizontal cells. The retina of newborn elephants contains discrete horizontal cells which coexpress ChAT, calbindin, and calretinin. While the overall structure of the retina is very similar between newborn and adult elephants, various parameters change after birth. The postnatal thickening of the retinal ganglion cell axons and the increase in ganglion cell soma size are explained by the increase in body size after birth, and the decreases in the densities of neuronal and glial cells are explained by the postnatal expansion of the retinal surface area. The expression of glutamine synthetase and CRALBP in the Müller cells of newborn elephants suggests that the cells are already capable of supporting the activities of photoreceptors and neurons. As a peculiarity, the elephant retina contains both normally located and displaced giant ganglion cells, with single cells reaching a diameter of more than 50 µm in adults and therefore being almost in the range of giant retinal ganglion cells found in aquatic mammals. Some of these ganglion cells are displaced into the inner nuclear layer, a unique feature of terrestrial mammals. For the first time, we describe here the occurrence of many bistratified rod bipolar cells in the elephant retina. These bistratified bipolar cells may improve nocturnal contrast perception in elephants given their arrhythmic lifestyle.

scholarly journals Bicycronic construct for optogenetic prosthesis of ganglion cell receptive field of degenerated retina

2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-261
Author(s):  
L. E. Petrovskaya ◽  
M. V. Roshchin ◽  
G. R. Smirnova ◽  
D. E. Kolotova ◽  
P. M. Balaban ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cell ◽  
Distinctive Feature ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Light Stimulation ◽  
Genetic Construct ◽  
Stimulation Of

For the purpose of optogenetic prosthetics of the receptive field of the retinal ganglion cell, we have created a bicistronic genetic construct that carries genes of excitatory (channelorhodopsin2) and inhibitory (anionic channelorhodopsin) rhodopsins. A distinctive feature of this construct is the combination of two genes into one construct with the mutant IRES inserted between them, which ensures precise ratio of the expression levels of the first and second gene in each transfected cell. It was found that the illumination of the central part of transfected neuron with light with a wavelength of 470 nm causes the generation of action potentials in the cell. At the same time, light stimulation of the periphery of the neuron causes cessation of the generation of action potentials. Thus, we were able to simulate the ON-OFF interaction of the receptive field of the retinal ganglion cell using optogenetic methods. Theoretically, this construction can be used for optogenetic prosthetics of degenerative retina in case of its delivery to ganglion cells using lentiviral vectors.

scholarly journals Synaptic inputs to the ganglion cells in the tiger salamander retina.

1979 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
D F Wunk ◽  
F S Werblin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Hybrid Cell ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Inhibitory Input ◽  
Tiger Salamander ◽  
Synaptic Inputs

The postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) that form the ganglion cell light response were isolated by polarizing the cell membrane with extrinsic currents while stimulating at either the center or surround of the cell's receptive field. The time-course and receptive field properties of the PSPs were correlated with those of the bipolar and amacrine cells. The tiger salamander retina contains four main types of ganglion cell: "on" center, "off" center, "on-off", and a "hybrid" cell that responds transiently to center, but sustainedly, to surround illumination. The results lead to these inferences. The on-ganglion cell receives excitatory synpatic input from the on bipolars and that synapse is "silent" in the dark. The off-ganglion cell receives excitatory synaptic input from the off bipolars with this synapse tonically active in the dark. The on-off and hybrid ganglion cells receive a transient excitatory input with narrow receptive field, not simply correlated with the activity of any presynaptic cell. All cell types receive a broad field transient inhibitory input, which apparently originates in the transient amacrine cells. Thus, most, but not all, ganglion cell responses can be explained in terms of synaptic inputs from bipolar and amacrine cells, integrated at the ganglion cell membrane.

scholarly journals Synaptic pathways that shape the excitatory drive in an OFF retinal ganglion cell

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (7) ◽  
pp. 1795-1807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya Buldyrev ◽  
Theresa Puthussery ◽  
W. Rowland Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Ampa Receptors ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Excitatory Input ◽  
Disodium Salt ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms ◽  
Spatiotemporal Filters

Different types of retinal ganglion cells represent distinct spatiotemporal filters that respond selectively to specific features in the visual input. Much about the circuitry and synaptic mechanisms that underlie such specificity remains to be determined. This study examines how N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor signaling combines with other excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms to shape the output of small-field OFF brisk-sustained ganglion cells (OFF-BSGCs) in the rabbit retina. We used voltage clamp to separately resolve NMDA, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), and inhibitory inputs elicited by stimulation of the receptive field center. Three converging circuits were identified. First is a direct glutamatergic input, arising from OFF cone bipolar cells (CBCs), which is mediated by synaptic NMDA and AMPA receptors. The NMDA input was saturated at 10% contrast, whereas the AMPA input increased monotonically up to 60% contrast. We propose that NMDA inputs selectively enhance sensitivity to low contrasts. The OFF bipolar cells, mediating this direct excitatory input, express dendritic kainate (KA) receptors, which are resistant to the nonselective AMPA/KA receptor antagonist, 2,3-dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide disodium salt (NBQX), but are suppressed by a GluK1- and GluK3-selective antagonist, ( S)-1-(2-amino-2-carboxyethyl)-3-(2-carboxy-thiophene-3-yl-methyl)-5-methylpyrimidine-2,4-dione (UBP-310). The second circuit entails glycinergic crossover inhibition, arising from ON-CBCs and mediated by AII amacrine cells, which modulate glutamate release from the OFF-CBC terminals. The third circuit also comprises glycinergic crossover inhibition, which is driven by the ON pathway; however, this inhibition impinges directly on the OFF-BSGCs and is mediated by an unknown glycinergic amacrine cell that expresses AMPA but not KA receptors.

Compensation for population size mismatches in the hamster retinotectal system: Alterations in the organization of retinal projections

1991 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.L. Pallas ◽  
B.L. Finlay
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Injection Site ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Fragment Size ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Receptive Field Properties

AbstractUnilateral partial ablation of the superior colliculus in the hamster results in a compression of the retinotopic map onto the remaining tectal fragment. In a previous electrophysiological study (Pallas & Finlay, 1989a), we demonstrated that receptive-field properties of single tectal units (including receptive-field size) remain unchanged, despite the increased afferent/target convergence ratios in the compressed tecta. The present study was done to investigate the mechanism that produces increased convergence from retina to tectum at the population level while maintaining apparent stability of convergence at the single neuron level. We injected comparable quantities of horseradish peroxidase into the tecta of normal adult hamsters and adult hamsters that had received neonatal partial tectal ablations of varying magnitude. We then compared the area of retina backfilled from the injection and the number and density of labeled retinal ganglion cells within it to the size of the remaining tectal fragment.As expected from earlier anatomical (Jhaveri & Schneider, 1974) and physiological (Finlay et al., 1979a; Pallas & Finlay, 1989a) studies demonstrating compression of the retinotectal projection, we found that the area of retina labeled from a single tectal injection site increases linearly with decreasing tectal fragment size. However, for fragment sizes down to 30% of normal, total number of retinal ganglion cells projecting to the injection site remains in or above the normal range. For large lesions (less than 30% of tectum remaining), total number of labeled retinal ganglion cells declines from normal, despite the fact that a larger absolute area of retina is represented on each unit of tectum under these conditions. Comparison of retinal ganglion cell density with tectal fragment size shows an initial decline with decreasing fragment size, which becomes sharper with very large lesions (small tectal fragments).The maintenance of the normal number of retinal ganglion cells innervating each patch of tectum could be accomplished by an elimination of the tectal collaterals of some retinal ganglion cells. Our results suggest that, in addition to collateral elimination, reduction in the size of ganglion cell arbors is occurring, since the peak density of backfilled ganglion cells declines less rapidly than backfilled retinal area increases, especially for small lesions. However, arbor reduction and collateral elimination must occur in such a way that individual tectal cells represent the same amount of visual space as normal.Thus, collateral elimination and arbor reduction are two mechanisms that operate to maintain afferent/target convergence ratios (and thus receptive-field properties) over large variations in afferent availability. This compensation may occur through an activity-dependent stabilization mechanism that does not change its selectivity even when excess afferents are available. For very large lesion sizes, receptive-field size and innervating ganglion cell number and density are not preserved, thus demonstrating a limit to the afferent/target matching mechanism. The same ontogenetic mechanisms might provide a buffer for normal variations in afferent populations, and could help to align topographic maps with differing numbers of afferents.

scholarly journals Synaptic inputs from identified bipolar and amacrine cells to a sparsely branched ganglion cell in rabbit retina

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea S. Bordt ◽  
Diego Perez ◽  
Luke Tseng ◽  
Weiley Sunny Liu ◽  
Jay Neitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Rabbit Retina ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Synaptic Inputs ◽  
Class Iv

AbstractThere are more than 30 distinct types of mammalian retinal ganglion cells, each sensitive to different features of the visual environment. In rabbit retina, they can be grouped into four classes according to their morphology and stratification of their dendrites in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The goal of this study was to describe the synaptic inputs to one type of Class IV ganglion cell, the third member of the sparsely branched Class IV cells (SB3). One cell of this type was partially reconstructed in a retinal connectome developed using automated transmission electron microscopy (ATEM). It had slender, relatively straight dendrites that ramify in the sublamina a of the IPL. The dendrites of the SB3 cell were always postsynaptic in the IPL, supporting its identity as a ganglion cell. It received 29% of its input from bipolar cells, a value in the middle of the range for rabbit retinal ganglion cells studied previously. The SB3 cell typically received only one synapse per bipolar cell from multiple types of presumed OFF bipolar cells; reciprocal synapses from amacrine cells at the dyad synapses were infrequent. In a few instances, the bipolar cells presynaptic to the SB3 ganglion cell also provided input to an amacrine cell presynaptic to the ganglion cell. There was apparently no crossover inhibition from narrow-field ON amacrine cells. Most of the amacrine cell inputs were from axons and dendrites of GABAergic amacrine cells, likely providing inhibitory input from outside the classical receptive field.

scholarly journals The effects of early diabetes on inner retinal neurons

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika D. Eggers ◽  
Teresia A. Carreon
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Gaba Release ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Early Diabetes

Abstract Diabetic retinopathy is now well understood as a neurovascular disease. Significant deficits early in diabetes are found in the inner retina that consists of bipolar cells that receive inputs from rod and cone photoreceptors, ganglion cells that receive inputs from bipolar cells, and amacrine cells that modulate these connections. These functional deficits can be measured in vivo in diabetic humans and animal models using the electroretinogram (ERG) and behavioral visual testing. Early effects of diabetes on both the human and animal model ERGs are changes to the oscillatory potentials that suggest dysfunctional communication between amacrine cells and bipolar cells as well as ERG measures that suggest ganglion cell dysfunction. These are coupled with changes in contrast sensitivity that suggest inner retinal changes. Mechanistic in vitro neuronal studies have suggested that these inner retinal changes are due to decreased inhibition in the retina, potentially due to decreased gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) release, increased glutamate release, and increased excitation of retinal ganglion cells. Inner retinal deficits in dopamine levels have also been observed that can be reversed to limit inner retinal damage. Inner retinal targets present a promising new avenue for therapies for early-stage diabetic eye disease.

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