Action Potentials in the Dendrites of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Velte, Toby J.; Masland, Richard H.

doi:10.1152/jn.1999.81.3.1412

Cited by 80 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…ON and OFF cells appear to express similar intrinsic properties (O'Brien et al, 2002), but we cannot completely rule out their contribution to differences in ON and OFF sensitivities (Velte and Masland, 1999;Chen and Diamond, 2002), Different inhibitory mechanisms for ON and OFF Previously, we observed that ON and OFF cells have different mechanisms for inhibition; an ON cell receives indirect inhibition (i.e., reduced excitation), reducing a conductance that reverses positive to V rest , whereas an OFF cell receives direct inhibition, increasing a conductance that reverses negative to V rest (Demb et al, 2001a,b). However, these previous experiments were performed either under a pharmacological condition in which spiking amacrine cells were blocked or else with relatively complex motion stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Different Circuits for ON and OFF Retinal Ganglion Cells Cause Different Contrast Sensitivities

Zaghloul¹,

Boahen

Demb³

2003

J. Neurosci.

216

309

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The theory of "parallel pathways" predicts that, except for a sign reversal, ON and OFF ganglion cells are driven by a similar presynaptic circuit. To test this hypothesis, we measured synaptic inputs to ON and OFF cells as reflected in the subthreshold membrane potential. We made intracellular recordings from brisk-transient (Y) cells in the in vitro guinea pig retina and show that ON and OFF cells in fact express significant asymmetries in their synaptic inputs. An ON cell receives relatively linear input that modulates a single excitatory conductance; whereas an OFF cell receives rectified input that modulates both inhibitory and excitatory conductances. The ON pathway, blocked by L-AP-4, tonically inhibits an OFF cell at mean luminance and phasically inhibits an OFF cell during a light increment. Our results suggest that basal glutamate release is high at ON but not OFF bipolar terminals, and inhibition between pathways is unidirectional: ON 3 OFF. These circuit asymmetries explain asymmetric contrast sensitivity observed in spiking behavior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Different Circuits for ON and OFF Retinal Ganglion Cells Cause Different Contrast Sensitivities

Zaghloul¹,

Boahen

Demb³

2003

J. Neurosci.

216

309

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“…This optimization for speed, however, would decrease the alpha cell's relative sensitivity to an equivalent synaptic input to other RGC types, yet they would appear to be among the most sensitive cells to visual contrast (Kaplan and Shapley 1986). This apparent paradox implies that A2/alpha cells either have increased synaptic input relative to other RGC types or possibly also employ active dendritic conductances to enhance their sensitivity (Dhingra et al 2005;Velte and Masland 1999). Whether retinal cells receive the same number of synapses per linear micrometer of dendrite is a matter of some disagreement in the literature (Eriköz et al 2008;Jakobs et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsic physiological properties of rat retinal ganglion cells with a comparative analysis

Wong

Cloherty

Ibbotson

et al. 2012

Journal of Neurophysiology

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Wong RC, Cloherty SL, Ibbotson MR, O'Brien BJ. Intrinsic physiological properties of rat retinal ganglion cells with a comparative analysis. J Neurophysiol 108: -2023, 2012. First published July 11, 2012 doi:10.1152/jn.01091.2011.-Mammalian retina contains 15-20 different retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types, each of which is responsible for encoding different aspects of the visual scene. The encoding is defined by a combination of RGC synaptic inputs, the neurotransmitter systems used, and their intrinsic physiological properties. Each cell's intrinsic properties are defined by its morphology and membrane characteristics, including the complement and localization of the ion channels expressed. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that the intrinsic properties of individual RGC types are conserved among mammalian species. To do so, we measured the intrinsic properties of 16 morphologically defined rat RGC types and compared these data with cat RGC types. Our data demonstrate that in the rat different morphologically defined RGC types have distinct patterns of intrinsic properties. Variation in these properties across cell types was comparable to that found for cat RGC types. When presumed morphological homologs in rat and cat retina were compared directly, some RGC types had very similar properties. The rat A2 cell exhibited patterns of intrinsic properties nearly identical to the cat alpha cell. In contrast, rat D2 cells (ON-OFF directionally selective) had a very different pattern of intrinsic properties than the cat iota cell. Our data suggest that the intrinsic properties of RGCs with similar morphology and suspected visual function may be subject to variation due to the behavioral needs of the species. whole cell patch clamp; action potential; vision THE RETINA has an extraordinary task to perform. It must capture, process, and relay all relevant information about the visual scene within one fixation period (ϳ300 ms) before the eye moves on to another target and the process repeats itself. It manages this task through an array of parallel processing networks, each of which is tuned to extract and represent different features of the visual scene (e.g., form, motion, color) and send that information to the appropriate target nuclei via the axons of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). As a result, it is now commonly believed that 15-20 different arrays of RGCs exist in mammalian retina (for review, see Berson 2008; Masland 2001), each of which carries a unique set of visual information.The visual information carried by RGCs is determined in at least three ways. First, the dendrites of each RGC type sample from the many different types of bipolar (ϳ11 types) and amacrine (ϳ30 types) cells present in the mammalian retina Second, information is filtered independently by each RGC depending upon the neurotransmitter receptors present. Finally, the intrinsic physiological properties of each RGC type ultimately limit the information they can carry. Prior studies of RGC intrinsic properties have been largely limited to...

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“…At one level, it seems that the amacrine and ganglion cell models are not very different. In the ganglion cell model, Na ϩ channels were also required in the dendrites and evidence of dendritic action potentials has been reported (Velte and Masland 1999). Voltage-gated Na ϩ channels in the ganglion cell model were sufficient in density to generate a back-propagated impulse (Fohlmeister and Miller 1997b) but not a forward-propagated impulse as appears to be present in the dendrites of ON-OFF amacrine cells.…”

Section: Amacrine Versus Ganglion Cell Modelmentioning

confidence: 98%

Form and Function of on-off Amacrine Cells in the Amphibian Retina

Miller

Staff

Velte

2006

Journal of Neurophysiology

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Miller, Robert F., Nathan P. Staff, and Toby J. Velte. Form and function of ON-OFF amacrine cells in the amphibian retina. J Neurophysiol 95: 3171-3190, 2006. First published February 15, 2006 doi:10.1152/jn.00090.2005. ON-OFF amacrine cells were studied with whole cell recording techniques and intracellular staining methods using intact retina-eyecup preparations of the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) and the mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). Morphological characterization of these cells included three-dimensional reconstruction methods based on serial optical sections obtained with a confocal microscope. Some cells had their detailed morphology digitized with a computer-assisted tracing system and converted to compartmental models for computer simulations. The dendrites of ON-OFF amacrine cells have spines and numerous varicosities. Physiological recordings confirmed that ON-OFF amacrine cells generate both large-and small-amplitude impulses attributed, respectively, to somatic and dendritic generation sites. Using a multichannel model for impulse generation, computer simulations were carried out to evaluate how impulses are likely to propagate throughout these structures. We conclude that the ON-OFF amacrine cell is organized with multifocal dendritic impulse generating sites and that both dendritic and somatic impulse activity contribute to the functional repertoire of these interneurons: locally generated dendritic impulses can provide regional activation, while somatic impulse activity results in rapid activation of the entire dendritic tree.

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Action Potentials in the Dendrites of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Cited by 80 publications

References 24 publications

Different Circuits for ON and OFF Retinal Ganglion Cells Cause Different Contrast Sensitivities

Different Circuits for ON and OFF Retinal Ganglion Cells Cause Different Contrast Sensitivities

Intrinsic physiological properties of rat retinal ganglion cells with a comparative analysis

Form and Function of on-off Amacrine Cells in the Amphibian Retina

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