Dynamic changes in the receptive fields of L1-type horizontal cells in the retina of the turtle Mauremys caspica

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. BORNSTEIN ◽  
G. TWIG ◽  
J. BENDA ◽  
R. WEILER ◽  
I. PERLMAN
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Light Stimulus ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Full Field ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Length Constant ◽  
Mauremys Caspica

The resistances of the horizontal cell syncytium in the vertebrate retina are modulated in a time-dependent fashion during light stimulation. Therefore, the spatial properties of horizontal cells are expected to change with time after the illumination conditions are altered. This study was designed to investigate time- and intensity-dependent changes in the receptive-field properties of L1-type horizontal cells in the turtle Mauremys caspica. Photoresponses were elicited by monochromatic (650 nm) light stimuli of 2-s duration covering retinal spots of different radii. The length constants were derived from the relationships between amplitude and spot radius that were constructed for different time intervals after onset of the light stimulus. For a given stimulus intensity, the length constant transiently increased to a peak value and then slowly recovered to a plateau level. When the length constant was compared to the amplitude of the response to full-field illumination for the entire duration of the light stimulus, an ellipse-like curve was obtained indicating that for a given membrane potential, two different values of the length constant could be obtained. Dopamine considerably reduced the size of the receptive fields but did not affect the time-dependent changes in the length constant. These results indicate that changes in the membrane resistance underlie short-term modulation of the receptive-field properties of turtle L1-type horizontal cells after onset of a light stimulus.

A comparison of receptive field and tracer coupling size of horizontal cells in the rabbit retina

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 985-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart A. Bloomfield ◽  
Daiyan Xin ◽  
Seth E. Persky
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Gap Junctions ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Electrical Coupling ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Narrow Slit ◽  
Retinal Neuron

AbstractThe large receptive fields of retinal horizontal cells are thought to reflect extensive electrical coupling via gap junctions. It was shown recently that the biotinylated tracers, biocytin and Neurobiotin, provide remarkable images of coupling between many types of retinal neuron, including horizontal cells. Further, these demonstrations of tracer coupling between horizontal cells rivaled the size of their receptive fields, suggesting that the pattern of tracer coupling may provide some index of the extent of electrical coupling. We studied this question by comparing the receptive field and tracer coupling size of dark-adapted horizontal cells recorded in the superfused, isolated retina-eyecup of the rabbit. Both the edge-to-edge receptive field and space constants (λ) were computed for each cell using a long, narrow slit of light displaced across the retinal surface. Cells were subsequently labeled by iontophoretic injection of Neurobiotin. The axonless A-type horizontal cells showed extensive, homologous tracer coupling in groups greater than 1000 covering distances averaging about 2 mm. The axon-bearing B-type horizontal cells were less extensively tracer coupled, showing homologous coupling of the somatic endings in groups of about 100 cells spanning approximately 400 μm and a separate homologous coupling of the axon terminal endings covering only about 275 μm. Moreover, we observed a remarkable, linear relationship between the size of the receptive fields of each of the three horizontal cell endings and the magnitude of their tracer coupling. Our findings suggest that the extent of tracer coupling provides a strong, linear index of the magnitude of electrical current flow, as derived from receptive-field measures, across groups of coupled horizontal cells. These data thus provide the first direct evidence that the receptive-field size of horizontal cells is related to the extent of their coupling via gap junctions.

scholarly journals Receptive field properties of rod-driven horizontal cells in the skate retina.

1992 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Qian ◽  
H Ripps
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Light Adaptation ◽  
Lucifer Yellow ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Intercellular Coupling ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Tightly Coupled ◽  
Receptive Field Organization ◽  
Gap Junctional

The large receptive fields of retinal horizontal cells result primarily from extensive intercellular coupling via gap (electrical) junctions; thus, the extent of the receptive field provides an index of the degree to which the cells are electrically coupled. For rod-driven horizontal cells in the dark-adapted skate retina, a space constant of 1.18 +/- 0.15 mm (SD) was obtained from measurements with a moving slit stimulus, and a comparable value (1.43 +/- 0.55 mm) was obtained with variation in spot diameter. These values, and the extensive spread of a fluorescent dye (Lucifer Yellow) from the site of injection to neighboring cells, indicate that the horizontal cells of the all-rod retina of skate are well coupled electrically. Neither the receptive field properties nor the gap-junctional features of skate horizontal cells were influenced by the adaptive state of the retina: (a) the receptive field organization was unaffected by light adaptation, (b) similar dye coupling was seen in both dark- and light-adapted retinae, and (c) no significant differences were found in the gap-junctional particle densities measured in dark- and light-adapted retinas, i.e., 3,184 +/- 286/microns 2 (n = 8) and 3,073 +/- 494/microns 2 (n = 11), respectively. Moreover, the receptive fields of skate horizontal cells were not altered by either dopamine, glycine, GABA, or the GABAA receptor antagonists bicuculline and picrotoxin. We conclude that the rod-driven horizontal cells of the skate retina are tightly coupled to one another, and that the coupling is not affected by photic and pharmacological conditions that are known to modulate intercellular coupling between cone-driven horizontal cells in other species.

Effects of light stimuli on the release of dopamine from interplexiform cells in the white perch retina

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 451-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Umino ◽  
Yunhee Lee ◽  
John E. Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
White Perch ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Dopamine Antagonists ◽  
Flickering Light ◽  
Receptive Field Size

AbstractInterplexiform cells are centrifugal neurons in the retina carrying information from the inner to the outer plexiform layers. In teleost fish, interplexiform cells appear to release dopamine in the outer plexiform layer after prolonged darkness that modulates the receptive-field size and light responsiveness of horizontal cells (Mangel & Dowling, 1985; Yang et al., 1988a, b). It has been proposed that interplexiform cells may also release dopamine upon steady illumination because horizontal cells' receptive fields shrink in the light (Shigematsu & Yamada, 1988). Here, we report the shrinkage of the receptive fields of horizontal cells seen in the presence of background illumination is not blocked by dopamine antagonists, indicating that dopamine does not underlie the receptive-field size changes observed during steady illumination. Flickering light, however, does appear to stimulate the release of dopamine from the interplexiform cells, resulting in a marked reduction of horizontal cell receptive-field size. Taken together, experiments on horizontal cells indicate that dopamine is released from interplexiform cells in the teleost retina after prolonged darkness and during flickering light, but that dopamine release from interplexiform cells during steady retinal illumination is minimal.

The light-induced reduction of horizontal cell receptive field size in the goldfish retina involves nitric oxide

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRYAN A. DANIELS ◽  
WILLIAM H. BALDRIDGE
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Nitric Oxide Donor ◽  
Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitor ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Goldfish Retina

AbstractHorizontal cells of the vertebrate retina have large receptive fields as a result of extensive gap junction coupling. Increased ambient illumination reduces horizontal cell receptive field size. Using the isolated goldfish retina, we have assessed the contribution of nitric oxide to the light-dependent reduction of horizontal cell receptive field size. Horizontal cell receptive field size was assessed by comparing the responses to centered spot and annulus stimuli and from the responses to translated slit stimuli. A period of steady illumination decreased the receptive field size of horizontal cells, as did treatment with the nitric oxide donor (Z)-1-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (100μM). Blocking the endogenous production of nitric oxide with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (1 mM), decreased the light-induced reduction of horizontal cell receptive field size. These findings suggest that nitric oxide is involved in light-induced reduction of horizontal cell receptive field size.

Spatial-chromatic interactions in C-type horizontal cells of the turtle (Mauremys caspica) retina

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. TWIG ◽  
H. LEVY ◽  
I. PERLMAN
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Light Stimulus ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Stray Light ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Color Information ◽  
Small Spot ◽  
Mauremys Caspica

Horizontal cells are second-order retinal neurons that play a key role in spatial information processing. In some cold-blooded vertebrates such as turtles, a subtype of these cells, the chromaticity horizontal cells exhibit color-opponent responses and therefore are considered to be important also for color information processing. To reveal spatial and color interactions, the receptive-field properties of Red/Green and Yellow/Blue chromaticity horizontal cells in the retina of the turtle Mauremys caspica were studied by intracellular recordings from the everted eyecup preparation. We found that the polarity of the photoresponses depended not only upon the wavelength and intensity of the stimulus, but also upon its spatial configuration. Thus, a hyperpolarizing photoresponse that was elicited by full-field stimulation with bright light of wavelength close to the “neutral” one was reversed in polarity to a pure depolarizing one when a small spot or a thin annular pattern were used for stimulation. This finding could not be explained either by different balances between depolarizing and hyperpolarizing inputs to different cells or by stray light that effectively reduced the light intensity in the center of the small spot. Rather, it was found that the depolarizing and hyperpolarizing components were characterized by different receptive-field size and that these differences could account for the dependency of response polarity upon the spatial pattern of the stimulus. These findings indicate that color information processing in turtle C-type horizontal cells is a complex process that depends upon the wavelength and intensity of the light stimulus as well as upon its spatial properties.

Receptive-field size of L1 horizontal cells in the turtle retina: effects of dopamine and background light

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 2786-2795 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Perlman ◽  
J. Ammermuller
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Amplitude Ratio ◽  
Response Amplitude ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Full Field ◽  
Receptive Field Size ◽  
Small Spot ◽  
Field Response ◽  
Length Constant

1. The receptive-field size of turtle L1 horizontal cells was assessed qualitatively from the small-spot/full-field-response amplitude ratio. For quantitative evaluation, the length constant was derived from the response amplitude-spot radius relationship. 2. In each horizontal cell, the length constants were calculated for different intensities of the test light stimuli. The effects of dopamine and/or background light on the small-spot/full-field amplitude ratio and on the length constants were studied. 3. The receptive field of an L1 horizontal cell could not be defined by a single length constant of fixed value. Rather, the length constant changed with the experimental conditions. Two types of changes were noted. An instantaneous one, which was expressed in an increase in the length constant when the test flash was made brighter, and a slow one that occurred when the eyecup was exposed to dopamine. 4. Dopamine increased the small-spot/full-field amplitude ratio and reduced the length constant for a given full-field-response amplitude. It did not alter the responsiveness to light of the horizontal cells. These effects of dopamine were consistent with its action on the coupling resistance between adjacent horizontal cells. 5. Continuous background illumination increased the small-spot/full-field-response amplitude ratio whether studied in normal Ringer or during superfusion with dopamine solution. 6. The relationship between the length constants and the relative amplitude of the full-field responses did not change when the level of ambient illumination was raised either during superfusion with normal Ringer solution or during superfusion with dopamine solution. 7. These data indicate that background lights do not alter the receptive field size of turtle L1 horizontal cells.

Response properties of horizontal cells and photoreceptor cells in the retina of the tree squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis

1985 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1157-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. F. Leeper ◽  
J. S. Charlton
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Spectral Response ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Photoreceptor Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Sciurus Carolinensis ◽  
Response Characteristics ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Tree Squirrel

A new experimental preparation for intracellular recording from mammalian retinal neurons has been established. This is the arterially perfused eyecup preparation of the tree squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis. Two horizontal cell types have been recorded in this preparation. These cell types differ in their response waveforms. Type 1 horizontal cells appear to receive input only from cones, whereas type 2 horizontal cells receive mixed rod-cone input. Sciurus horizontal cells have receptive-field sizes smaller than those of horizontal cells in other mammalian and nonmammalian species. Recordings from a second class of cells in the outer retina of the squirrel reveal receptive-field properties considerably different from those of squirrel horizontal cells and similar to those of photoreceptor cells in other species. On the basis of these receptive-field properties, recording depth, and spectral response characteristics, we conclude that these recordings were from cone-photoreceptor cells. These recordings from squirrel cones are the first demonstration of mammalian photoreceptor response amplitudes and receptive-field interactions comparable with those demonstrated for nonmammalian species.

Receptive field of the retinal bipolar cell: a pharmacological study in the tiger salamander

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 2005-2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Hare ◽  
W. G. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Gaba Receptors ◽  
Bipolar Cell ◽  
Horizontal Cell ◽  
Pharmacological Study ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Horizontal Cells ◽  
Gaba Uptake ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Gabaergic Synapse

1. It is widely believed that signals contributing to the receptive field surrounds of retinal bipolar cells pass from horizontal cells to bipolar cells via GABAergic synapses. To test this notion, we applied gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonists and antagonists to isolated, perfused retinas of the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum while recording intracellularly from bipolar cells, horizontal cells, and photoreceptors. 2. As we previously reported, administration of the GABA analogue D-aminovaleric acid in concert with picrotoxin did not block horizontal cell responses or the center responses of bipolar cells but blocked the surround responses of both on-center and off-center bipolar cells. 3. Surround responses were not blocked by the GABA, antagonists picrotoxin or bicuculline, the GABAB agonist baclofen or the GABAB antagonist phaclofen, and the GABAC antagonists picrotoxin or cis-4-aminocrotonic acid. Combinations of these drugs were similarly ineffective. 4. GABA itself activated a powerful GABA uptake mechanism in horizontal cells for which nipecotic acid is a competitive agonist. It also activated, both in horizontal cells and bipolar cells, large GABAA conductances that shunted light responses but that could be blocked by picrotoxin or bicuculline. 5. GABA, administered together with picrotoxin to block the shunting effect of GABAA activation, did not eliminate bipolar cell surround responses at concentrations sufficient to saturate the known types of GABA receptors. 6. Surround responses were not blocked by glycine or its antagonist strychnine, or by combinations of drugs designed to eliminate GABAergic and glycinergic pathways simultaneously. 7. Although we cannot fully discount the involvement of a novel GABAergic synapse, the simplest explanation of our findings is that the primary pathway mediating the bipolar cell's surround is neither GABAergic nor glycinergic.

Receptive-field properties and neuronal connectivity in striate and parastriate cortex of contour-deprived cats

1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Singer ◽  
F. Tretter
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Connectivity Pattern ◽  
Area 18 ◽  
Efferent Connections ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Areas 17 And 18

An attempt was made to relate the alterations of cortical receptive fields as they result from binocular visual deprivation to changes in afferent, intrinsic, and efferent connections of the striate and parastriate cortex. The experiments were performed in cats aged at least 1 jr with their eyelids sutured closed from birth.The results of the receptive-field analysis in A17 confirmed the reduction of light-responsive cells, the occasional incongruity of receptive-field properties in the two eyes, and to some extent also the loss of orientation and direction selectivity as reported previously. Other properties common to numerous deprived receptive fields were the lack of sharp inhibitory sidebands and the sometimes exceedingly large size of the receptive fields. Qualitatively as well as quantitatively, similar alterations were observed in area 18. A rather high percentage of cells in both areas had, however, preserved at least some orientation preference, and a few receptive fields had tuning properties comparable to those in normal cats. The ability of area 18 cells in normal cats to respond to much higher stimulus velocities than area 17 cells was not influenced by deprivation.The results obtained with electrical stimulation suggest two main deprivation effects: 1) A marked decrease in the safety factor of retinothalamic and thalamocortical transmission. 2) A clear decrease in efficiency of intracortical inhibition. But the electrical stimulation data also show that none of the basic principles of afferent, intrinsic, and efferent connectivity is lost or changed by deprivation. The conduction velocities in the subcortical afferents and the differentiation of the afferents to areas 17 and 18 into slow- and fast-conducting projection systems remain unaltered. Intrinsic excitatory connections remain functional; this is also true for the disynaptic inhibitory pathways activated preferentially by the fast-conducting thalamocortical projection. The laminar distribution of cells with monosynaptic versus polsynaptic excitatory connections is similar to that in normal cats. Neurons with corticofugal axons remain functionally connected and show the same connectivity pattern as those in normal cats. The nonspecific activation system from the mesencephalic reticular formation also remains functioning both at the thalamic and the cortical level.We conclude from these and several other observations that most, if not all, afferent, intrinsic, and efferent connections of areas 17 and 18 are specified from birth and depend only little on visual experience. This predetermined structural plan, however, allows for some freedom in the domain of orientation tuning, binocular correspondence, and retinotopy which is specified only when visual experience is possible.

Response and receptive-field properties of spinomesencephalic tract cells in the cat

1986 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Yezierski ◽  
R. H. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Receptive Field ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
The Body ◽  
Noxious Stimulation ◽  
Primary Afferent ◽  
Receptive Field Properties ◽  
Afferent Fibers ◽  
Primary Afferent Fibers

Recordings were made from 90 identified spinomesencephalic tract (SMT) cells in the lumbosacral spinal cord of cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose and pentobarbital sodium. Recording sites were located in laminae I-VIII. Antidromic stimulation sites were located in different regions of the rostral and caudal midbrain including the periaqueductal gray, midbrain reticular formation, and the deep layers of the superior colliculus. Twelve SMT cells were antidromically activated from more than one midbrain level or from sites in the medial thalamus. The mean conduction velocity for the population of cells sampled was 45.2 +/- 21.4 m/s. Cells were categorized based on their responses to graded intensities of mechanical stimuli and the location of excitatory and/or inhibitory receptive fields. Four major categories of cells were encountered: wide dynamic range (WDR); high threshold (HT); deep/tap; and nonresponsive. WDR and HT cells had excitatory and/or inhibitory receptive fields restricted to the ipsilateral hindlimb or extending to other parts of the body including the tail, forelimbs, and face. Some cells had long afterdischarges following noxious stimulation, whereas others had high rates of background activity that was depressed by nonnoxious and noxious stimuli. Deep/tap cells received convergent input from muscle, joint, or visceral primary afferent fibers. The placement of mechanical lesions at different rostrocaudal levels of the cervical spinal cord provided information related to the spinal trajectory of SMT axons. Six axons were located contralateral to the recording electrode in the ventrolateral/medial or lateral funiculi while two were located in the ventrolateral funiculus of the ipsilateral spinal cord. Stimulation at sites used to antidromically activate SMT cells resulted in the inhibition of background and evoked responses for 22 of 25 cells tested. Inhibitory effects were observed on responses evoked by low/high intensity cutaneous stimuli and by the activation of joint or muscle primary afferent fibers. Based on the response and receptive-field properties of SMT cells it is suggested that the SMT may have an important role in somatosensory mechanisms, particularly those related to nociception.

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