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.

Regional distribution of nitrergic neurons in the inner retina of the chicken

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN WILSON ◽  
NICK NACSA ◽  
NATHAN S. HART ◽  
CYNTHIA WELLER ◽  
DAVID I. VANEY
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Visual Image ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Inner Retina ◽  
Neuronal Types

AbstractUsing both NADPH diaphorase and anti-nNOS antibodies, we have identified—from retinal flatmounts—neuronal types in the inner retina of the chicken that are likely to be nitrergic. The two methods gave similar results and yielded a total of 15 types of neurons, comprising 9 amacrine cells, 5 ganglion cells, and 1 centrifugal midbrain neuron. Six of these 15 cell types are ubiquitously distributed, comprising 3 amacrine cells, 2 displaced ganglion cells, and a presumed orthotopic ganglion cell. The remaining nine cell types are regionally restricted within the retina. As previously reported, efferent fibers of midbrain neurons and their postsynaptic partners, the unusual axon-bearing target amacrine cells, are entirely confined to the ventral retina. Also confined to the ventral retina, though with somewhat different distributions, are the “bullwhip” amacrine cells thought to be involved in eye growth, an orthotopic ganglion cell, and two types of large axon-bearing amacrine cells whose dendrites and axons lie in stratum 1 of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Intracellular fills of these two cell types showed that only a minority of otherwise morphologically indistinguishable neurons are nitrergic. Two amacrine cells that branch throughout the IPL are confined to an equatorial band, and one small-field orthotopic ganglion cell that branches in the proximal IPL is entirely dorsal. These findings suggest that the retina uses different processing on different regions of the visual image, though the benefit of this is presently obscure.

Retinal ganglion cells projecting to the optic tectum and visual thalamus of lizards

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 575-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALINO MARTINEZ-MARCOS ◽  
ENRIQUE LANUZA ◽  
FERNANDO MARTINEZ-GARCIA
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Optic Tectum ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Visual Thalamus ◽  
Podarcis Hispanica

Retinal ganglion cells projecting to the optic tectum and visual thalamus have been investigated in the lizard, Podarcis hispanica. Injections of biotinylated dextran-amine in the optic tectum reveal seven morphological cell varieties including one displaced ganglion cell type. Injections in the visual thalamus yield similar ganglion cell classes plus four giant ganglion cells, including two displaced ganglion cell types. The present study constitutes the first comparison of tectal versus thalamic ganglion cell types in reptiles. The situation found in lizards is similar to that reported in mammals and birds where some cell types projecting to the thalamus are larger than those projecting to the mesencephalic roof. The presence of giant retino-thalamic ganglion cells with specific dendritic arborizations in sublaminae A and B of the inner plexiform layer suggests that parts of the visual thalamus of lizards could be implicated in movement detection, a role that might be played by the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, which is involved in our tracer injections.

Disruption of transient photoreceptor targeting within the inner plexiform layer following early ablation of cholinergic amacrine cells in the ferret

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 741-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.T. JOHNSON ◽  
M.A. RAVEN ◽  
B.E. REESE
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Amacrine Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Subcutaneous Injections ◽  
Cell Processes ◽  
Cholinergic Amacrine Cells

Photoreceptors in the ferret's retina have been shown to project transiently to the inner plexiform layer (IPL) prior to their differentiation of an outer segment. On postnatal day 15 (P-15), when this projection achieves maximal density, the photoreceptors projecting into the IPL extend primarily to one of two depths, coincident with the processes of cholinergic amacrine cells. The present study has used an excitotoxic approach employing subcutaneous injections of l-glutamate to ablate these cholinergic amacrine cells on P-7, in order to see whether their elimination alters this targeting of photoreceptor terminals within the IPL. The near-complete elimination of cholinergic amacrine cells at P-15 was confirmed, although the population of retinal ganglion cells was also affected, being depleted by roughly 50%. The rod opsin-immunopositive terminals in such treated ferrets no longer showed a stratified distribution, being found throughout the depth of the IPL, as well as extending into the ganglion cell layer. This effect should not be due to the partial loss of retinal ganglion cells, however, since optic nerve transection at P-2, which eliminates the ganglion cells entirely while leaving the cholinergic amacrine cell population intact, was shown not to affect the stratification pattern of the photoreceptors within the IPL. These results strongly suggest that the targeting of the photoreceptor terminals to discrete strata within the IPL is dependent upon the cholinergic amacrine cell processes.

Organization of the primate retina: Light microscopy, with an appendix: A second type of midget bipolar cell in the primate retina

1969 ◽  
Vol 255 (799) ◽  
pp. 109-184 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Bipolar Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Axon Terminals

The structure of the human, but mainly of the rhesus monkey, retina as examined by Golgi-staining techniques is described and interpreted on evidence from both light and electron microscopy. One type of rod bipolar cell and two types of cone bipolar cell are recognized. The rod bipolar is exclusively connected to rods. The midget bipolar is postsynaptic to only one cone but each cone is also presynaptic to a diffuse cone (flat) bipolar. Such flat bipolar cells are in synaptic relationship with about seven cones. No other bipolar cell types have been found. The brush bipolar of Polyak is interpreted as probably a distorted rod bipolar, while Polyak’s centrifugal bipolar is a misinterpretation of the morphology of diffuse amacrine cells. When presumptive centrifugal bipolars were observed they appeared to be a developmental stage of amacrine cells. In the outer plexiform layer two types of horizontal cell have been defined. Each type of horizontal cell has a single axon and two kinds of horizontal cell axon terminals are recognized. In the inner plexiform layer there are two main classes of amacrine cells: the stratified amacrines and the diffuse amacrines. Each class of amacrine has a wide variety of shapes. Polyak’s midget ganglion cell is confirmed and his five other kinds of ganglion cell are classified into diffuse and stratified ganglion cells according to the level at which their dendrites branch within the inner plexiform layer. A fuller summary is given by the diagram and in the legend of figure 98, p. 174. A new type of midget bipolar is described in the Appendix (p. 177).

A coupled network for parasol but not midget ganglion cells in the primate retina

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 279-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis M. Dacey ◽  
Sarah Brace
Keyword(s):  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Distinct Pattern ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Dendritic Field

AbstractIntracellular injections of Neurobiotin were used to determine whether the major ganglion cell classes of the macaque monkey retina, the magnocellular-projecting parasol, and the parvocellular-projecting midget cells showed evidence of cellular coupling similar to that recently described for cat retinal ganglion cells. Ganglion cells were labeled with the fluorescent dye acridine orange in an in vitro, isolated retina preparation and were selectively targeted for intracellular injection under direct microscopic control. The macaque midget cells, like the beta cells of the cat's retina, showed no evidence of tracer coupling when injected with Neurobiotin. By contrast, Neurobiotin-filled parasol cells, like cat alpha cells, showed a distinct pattern of tracer coupling to each other (homotypic coupling) and to amacrine cells (heterotypic coupling).In instances of homotypic coupling, the injected parasol cell was surrounded by a regular array of 3–6 neighboring parasol cells. The somata and proximal dendrites of these tracer-coupled cells were lightly labeled and appeared to costratify with the injected cell. Analysis of the nearest-neighbor distances for the parasol cell clusters showed that dendritic-field overlap remained constant as dendritic-field size increased from 100–400 μm in diameter.At least two amacrine cell types showed tracer coupling to parasol cells. One amacrine type had a small soma and thin, sparsely branching dendrites that extended for 1–2 mm in the inner plexiform layer. A second amacrine type had a relatively large soma, thick main dendrites, and distinct, axon-like processes that extended for at least 2–3 mm in the inner plexiform layer. The main dendrites of the large amacrine cells were closely apposed to the dendrites of parasol cells and may be the site of Neurobiotin transfer between the two cell types. We suggest that the tracer coupling between neighboring parasol cells takes place indirectly via the dendrites of the large amacrine cells and provides a mechanism, absent in midget cells, for increasing parasol cell receptive-field size and luminance contrast sensitivity.

The number and distribution of bipolar to ganglion cell synapses in the inner plexiform layer of the anuran retina

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1099-1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Buzás ◽  
Sára Jeges ◽  
Robert Gábriel
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Flow Through

AbstractThe main route of information flow through the vertebrate retina is from the photoreceptors towards the ganglion cells whose axons form the optic nerve. Bipolar cells of the frog have been so far reported to contact mostly amacrine cells and the majority of input to ganglion cells comes from the amacrines. In this study, ganglion cells of frogs from two species (Bufo marinus, Xenopus laevis) were filled retrogradely with horseradish peroxidase. After visualization of the tracer, light-microscopic cross sections showed massive labeling of the somata in the ganglion cell layer as well as their dendrites in the inner plexiform layer. In cross sections, bipolar output and ganglion cell input synapses were counted in the electron microscope. Each synapse was assigned to one of the five equal sublayers (SLs) of the inner plexiform layer. In both species, bipolar cells were most often seen to form their characteristic synaptic dyads with two amacrine cells. In some cases, however, the dyads were directed to one amacrine and one ganglion cell dendrite. This type of synapse was unevenly distributed within the inner plexiform layer with the highest occurrence in SL2 both in Bufo and Xenopus. In addition, SL4 contained also a high number of this type of synapse in Xenopus. In both species, we found no or few bipolar to ganglion cell synapses in the marginal sublayers (SLs 1 and 5). In Xenopus, 22% of the bipolar cell output synapses went onto ganglion cells, whereas in Bufo this was only 10%. We conclude that direct bipolar to ganglion cell information transfer exists also in frogs although its occurrence is not as obvious and regular as in mammals. The characteristic distribution of these synapses, however, suggests that specific type of the bipolar and ganglion cells participate in this process. These contacts may play a role in the formation of simple ganglion cell receptive fields.

Synaptic inputs to retrogradely labeled ganglion cells in the retina of the cane toad, Bufo marinus

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1089-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bao-Song Zhu ◽  
Ian L. Gibbins
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Amacrine Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Bufo Marinus ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Synaptic Inputs ◽  
Biotinylated Dextran

AbstractThe entire population of ganglion cells in the retina of the toad Bufo marinus was labeled by retrograde transport of a lysine-fixable biotinylated dextran amine of 3000 molecular weight. Synaptic connections between bipolar, amacrine, and ganglion cells in the inner plexiform layer were quantitatively analyzed, with emphasis on synaptic inputs to labeled ganglion cell dendrites. Synapses onto ganglion cell dendrites comprised 47% of a total of 1234 identified synapses in the inner plexiform layer. Approximately half of the bipolar or amacrine cell synapses were directed onto ganglion cell dendrites, while the rest were made mainly onto amacrine cell dendrites. Most of the synaptic inputs to ganglion cell dendrites derived from amacrine cell dendrites (84%), with the rest from bipolar cell terminals. Synaptic inputs to ganglion cell dendrites were distributed relatively uniformly throughout all sublaminae of the inner plexiform layer. The present study provides unambiguous identification of ganglion cell dendrites including very fine processes, enabling a detailed analysis of the types and distribution of synaptic inputs from the bipolar and amacrine cell to the ganglion cells. The retrograde tracing technique used in the present study will prove to be a useful tool for identifying synaptic inputs to ganglion cell dendrites from neurochemically identified bipolar and amacrine cell types in the retina.

scholarly journals Heterocellular coupling between amacrine cell and ganglion cells

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Marc ◽  
Crystal Sigulinsky ◽  
Rebecca L. Pfeiffer ◽  
Daniel Emrich ◽  
James R. Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gap Junctions ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Bipolar Cell ◽  
Amacrine Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Tem Analysis

AbstractAll superclasses of retinal neurons display some form of electrical coupling including the key neurons of the inner plexiform layer: bipolar cells (BCs), amacrine or axonal cells (ACs) and ganglion cells (GCs). However, coupling varies extensively by class. For example, mammalian rod bipolar cells form no gap junctions at all, while all cone bipolar cells form class-specific coupling arrays, many of them homocellular in-superclass arrays. Ganglion cells are unique in that classes with coupling predominantly form heterocellular cross-class arrays of ganglion cell::amacrine cell (GC::AC) coupling in the mammalian retina. Ganglion cells are the least frequent superclass in the inner plexiform layer and GC::AC gap junctions are sparsely arrayed amidst massive cohorts of AC::AC, bipolar cell BC::BC, and AC::BC gap junctions. Many of these gap junctions and most ganglion cell gap junctions are suboptical, complicating analysis of specific ganglion cells. High resolution 2 nm TEM analysis of rabbit retinal connectome RC1 allows quantitative GC::AC coupling maps of identified ganglion cells. Ganglion cells classes apparently avoid direct cross-class homocellular coupling altogether even though they have opportunities via direct membrane touches, while transient OFF alpha ganglion cells and transient ON directionally selective (DS) ganglion cells are strongly coupled to distinct amacrine / axonal cell cohorts.A key feature of coupled ganglion cells is intercellular metabolite flux. Most GC::AC coupling involves GABAergic cells (γ+ amacrine cells), which results in significant GABA flux into ganglion cells. Surveying GABA coupling signatures in the ganglion cell layer across species suggests that the majority of vertebrate retinas engage in GC::AC coupling.Multi-hop synaptic queries of the entire RC1 connectome clearly profiles the coupled amacrine and axonal cells. Photic drive polarities and source bipolar cell class selec-tivities are tightly matched across coupled cells. OFF alpha ganglion cells are coupled to OFF γ+ amacrine cells and transient ON DS ganglion cells are coupled to ON γ+ amacrine cells including a large interstitial axonal cell (IAC). Synaptic tabulations show close matches between the classes of bipolar cells sampled by the coupled amacrine and ganglion cells. Further, both ON and OFF coupling ganglion networks show a common theme: synaptic asymmetry whereby the coupled γ+ neurons are also presynaptic to ganglion cell dendrites from different classes of ganglion cells outside the coupled set. In effect, these heterocellular coupling patterns enable an excited ganglion cell to directly inhibit nearby ganglion cells of different classes. Similarly, coupled γ+ amacrine cells engaged in feedback networks can leverage the additional gain of bipolar cell synapses in shaping the signaling of a spectrum of downstream targets based on their own selective coupling with ganglion cells.

scholarly journals Dendro-somatic synaptic inputs to ganglion cells violate receptive field and connectivity rules in the mammalian retina

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miloslav Sedlacek ◽  
William Grimes ◽  
Morgan Musgrove ◽  
Amurta Nath ◽  
Hua Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Excitatory Input ◽  
Mouse Retina ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Visual Response ◽  
Dendritic Arbors

In retinal neurons, morphology strongly influences visual response features. Ganglion cell (GC) dendrites ramify in distinct strata of the inner plexiform layer (IPL) so that GCs responding to light increments (ON) or decrements (OFF) receive appropriate excitatory inputs. This vertical stratification prescribes response polarity and ensures consistent connectivity between cell types, whereas the lateral extent of GC dendritic arbors typically dictates receptive field (RF) size. Here, we identify circuitry in mouse retina that contradicts these conventions. A2 amacrine cells are interneurons understood to mediate 'cross-over' inhibition by relaying excitatory input from the ON layer to inhibitory outputs in the OFF layer. Ultrastructural and physiological analyses show, however, that some A2s deliver powerful inhibition to OFF GC somas and proximal dendrites in the ON layer, rendering their inhibitory RFs smaller than their dendritic arbors. This OFF pathway, avoiding entirely the OFF region of the IPL, challenges several tenets of retinal circuitry.

Understanding Retinal Microcircuitry: Then to Now

2017 ◽  
pp. 273-284
Author(s):  
Frank S. Werblin ◽  
John E. Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
The Other ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
History Of ◽  
Synaptic Circuitry

This chapter focuses on the history of understanding retinal microcircuitry. To understand the microcircuitry underlying the responses of all ganglion cell types that exist in vertebrate retinas will require much work. We have a fairly good notion of how ON and OFF center ganglion cells are established by excitatory and inhibitory inputs in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) and inner plexiform layer (IPL), as well as how direction selection (DS) properties are imparted to ON-OFF ganglion cells in the IPL; but we have only fragmentary information regarding the microcircuitry of the other ganglion cell types. We do know where to look—along the various strata in the IPL. With electron microscope methods to determine synaptic circuitry and methods to record responses of single neurons in a circuit available, the microcircuitry of the strata in the IPL can be elucidated.

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