scholarly journals Retinal waves but not visual experience are required for development of retinal direction selectivity maps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Tiriac ◽  
Karina Bistrong ◽  
Marla Feller
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Retinal Waves ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Eye Opening

Retinal waves and visual experience have been implicated in the formation of retinotopic and eye-specific maps throughout the visual system, but whether either play a role in the development of the maps within the retina itself is unknown. We explore this question using direction-selective retinal ganglion cells, which are organized into a map that aligns to the body and gravitational axes of optic flow. Using two-photon population calcium imaging, we find that the direction selectivity map is present at eye opening and is unaltered by dark-rearing. Remarkably, the horizontal component of the direction selectivity map is absent in mice lacking normal retinal waves, whereas the vertical component remains normal. These results indicate that intrinsic patterns of activity, rather than extrinsic motion signals are critical for the establishment of direction selectivity maps in the retina.

scholarly journals CaV3.2 KO mice have altered retinal waves but normal direction selectivity

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
AARON M. HAMBY ◽  
JULIANA M. ROSA ◽  
CHING-HSIU HSU ◽  
MARLA B. FELLER
Keyword(s):  
Action Potentials ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus ◽  
Retinal Waves ◽  
Retinal Projections ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
Dorsal Lateral Geniculate

AbstractEarly in development, before the onset of vision, the retina establishes direction-selective responses. During this time period, the retina spontaneously generates bursts of action potentials that propagate across its extent. The precise spatial and temporal properties of these “retinal waves” have been implicated in the formation of retinal projections to the brain. However, their role in the development of direction selective circuits within the retina has not yet been determined. We addressed this issue by combining multielectrode array and cell-attached recordings to examine mice that lack the CaV3.2 subunit of T-type Ca2+ channels (CaV3.2 KO) because these mice exhibit disrupted waves during the period that direction selective circuits are established. We found that the spontaneous activity of these mice displays wave-associated bursts of action potentials that are altered from that of control mice: the frequency of these bursts is significantly decreased and the firing rate within each burst is reduced. Moreover, the projection patterns of the retina demonstrate decreased eye-specific segregation in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). However, after eye-opening, the direction selective responses of CaV3.2 KO direction selective ganglion cells (DSGCs) are indistinguishable from those of wild-type DSGCs. Our data indicate that although the temporal properties of the action potential bursts associated with retinal waves are important for activity-dependent refining of retinal projections to central targets, they are not critical for establishing direction selectivity in the retina.

scholarly journals Receptive Field Mosaics of Retinal Ganglion Cells Are Established Without Visual Experience

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 1856-1864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastacia Anishchenko ◽  
Martin Greschner ◽  
Justin Elstrott ◽  
Alexander Sher ◽  
Alan M. Litke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Receptive Field ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Space ◽  
Light Response ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Eye Opening

A characteristic feature of adult retina is mosaic organization: a spatial arrangement of cells of each morphological and functional type that produces uniform sampling of visual space. How the mosaics of visual receptive fields emerge in the retina during development is not fully understood. Here we use a large-scale multielectrode array to determine the mosaic organization of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in rats around the time of eye opening and in the adult. At the time of eye opening, we were able to reliably distinguish two types of ON RGCs and two types of OFF RGCs in rat retina based on their light response and intrinsic firing properties. Although the light responses of individual cells were not yet mature at this age, each of the identified functional RGC types formed a receptive field mosaic, where the spacing of the receptive field centers and the overlap of the receptive field extents were similar to those observed in the retinas of adult rats. These findings suggest that, although the light response properties of RGCs may need vision to reach full maturity, extensive visual experience is not required for individual RGC types to form a regular sensory map of visual space.

scholarly journals Masking of a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish involves the thalamo-habenula pathway

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Lin ◽  
Suresh Jesuthasan
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Blue Light ◽  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Thalamic Nucleus ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Larval Zebrafish ◽  
Circadian Behavior

AbstractLight has the ability to disrupt or mask behavior that is normally controlled by the circadian clock. In mammals, masking requires melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells that detect blue light and project to the thalamus. It is not known whether masking is wavelength-dependent in other vertebrates, nor is it clear what higher circuits are involved. Here, we address these questions in zebrafish. We find that diel vertical migration, a circadian behavior in larval zebrafish, is effectively masked by blue, but not by red light. Two-photon calcium imaging reveals that a retino-recipient thalamic nucleus and a downstream structure, the habenula, are tuned to blue light. Lesioning the habenula inhibits light-evoked climbing. These data suggest that a thalamo-habenula pathway may be involved in the ability of blue light to mask circadian behavior.

scholarly journals GABA release selectively regulates synapse development at distinct inputs on direction-selective retinal ganglion cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (51) ◽  
pp. E12083-E12090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Bleckert ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Maxwell H. Turner ◽  
David Koren ◽  
David M. Berson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Selective Reduction ◽  
Amacrine Cells ◽  
Gaba Release ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Inhibitory Synapses ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Gabaergic Transmission ◽  
Starburst Amacrine Cells ◽  
Receptor Clusters

Synaptic inhibition controls a neuron’s output via functionally distinct inputs at two subcellular compartments, the cell body and the dendrites. It is unclear whether the assembly of these distinct inhibitory inputs can be regulated independently by neurotransmission. In the mammalian retina, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release from starburst amacrine cells (SACs) onto the dendrites of on–off direction-selective ganglion cells (ooDSGCs) is essential for directionally selective responses. We found that ooDSGCs also receive GABAergic input on their somata from other amacrine cells (ACs), including ACs containing the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). When net GABAergic transmission is reduced, somatic, but not dendritic, GABAA receptor clusters on the ooDSGC increased in number and size. Correlative fluorescence imaging and serial electron microscopy revealed that these enlarged somatic receptor clusters are localized to synapses. By contrast, selectively blocking vesicular GABA release from either SACs or VIP ACs did not alter dendritic or somatic receptor distributions on the ooDSGCs, showing that neither SAC nor VIP AC GABA release alone is required for the development of inhibitory synapses in ooDSGCs. Furthermore, a reduction in net GABAergic transmission, but not a selective reduction from SACs, increased excitatory drive onto ooDSGCs. This increased excitation may drive a homeostatic increase in ooDSGC somatic GABAA receptors. Differential regulation of GABAA receptors on the ooDSGC’s soma and dendrites could facilitate homeostatic control of the ooDSGC’s output while enabling the assembly of the GABAergic connectivity underlying direction selectivity to be indifferent to altered transmission.

scholarly journals Light-evoked activity and BDNF regulate mitochondrial dynamics and mitochondrial localized translation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kreymerman ◽  
Jessica E. Weinstein ◽  
Sahil H. Shah ◽  
David N. Buickians ◽  
Anne Faust ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Axon Development ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Gene And Protein Expression ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
Evoked Activity

AbstractMitochondria coordinate diverse functions within neurites, including signaling events for axonal maintenance, and degeneration. However, less is known about the role of mitochondria in axon development and maturation. Here we find that in maturing retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in vivo, axonal mitochondria increase in size, number, and total area throughout development. We demonstrate through multiple approaches in vivo that the mechanism underlying these mitochondrial changes are dependent on eye opening and associated neuronal activity, which can be mimicked by brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We report downstream gene and protein expression changes consistent with mitochondrial biogenesis and energetics pathways, and present evidence that the associated transcripts are localized and translated at mitochondria within axons in an activity-dependent manner. Together these data support a novel model for mitochondrial-localized translation in support of intra-axonal mitochondrial dynamics and axonal maturation.

scholarly journals Pan-Retinal Characterisation of Light Responses from Ganglion Cells in the Developing Mouse Retina

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerrit Hilgen ◽  
Sahar Pirmoradian ◽  
Daniela Pamplona ◽  
Pierre Kornprobst ◽  
Bruno Cessac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Mouse Retina ◽  
Multielectrode Array ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Developmental Profile ◽  
Light Responses ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
Dorsal Retina

AbstractWe have investigated the ontogeny of light-driven responses in mouse retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Using a large-scale, high-density multielectrode array, we recorded from hundreds to thousands of RGCs simultaneously at pan-retinal level, including dorsal and ventral locations. Responses to different contrasts not only revealed a complex developmental profile for ON, OFF and ON-OFF RGC types, but also unveiled differences between dorsal and ventral RGCs. At eye-opening, dorsal RGCs of all types were more responsive to light, perhaps indicating an environmental priority to nest viewing for pre-weaning pups. The developmental profile of ON and OFF RGCs exhibited antagonistic behavior, with the strongest ON responses shortly after eye-opening, followed by an increase in the strength of OFF responses later on. Further, we found that with maturation receptive field (RF) center sizes decrease, responses to light get stronger, and centers become more circular while seeing differences in all of them between RGC types. These findings show that retinal functionality is not spatially homogeneous, likely reflecting ecological requirements that favour the early development of dorsal retina, and reflecting different roles in vision in the mature animal.

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