Mice Reach Higher Visual Sensitivity at Night by Using a More Efficient Behavioral Strategy

Koskela, Sanna; Turunen, Tuomas; Ala-Laurila, Petri

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.021

Cited by 15 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…To test if these compensatory changes can promote vision, we applied an optomotor response test (OMR; Prusky et al, 2004 ) to evaluate behavioral visual contrast sensitivity (CS) in P23H/ Gnat2 -/- mice and their Gnat2 -/- littermate controls ( Figure 7A ). This reflexive test was selected to avoid confounding factors caused by potential plasticity in the cortical brain areas that could also promote vision even when retinal output is suppressed ( Koskela et al, 2020 ). Our aim was to focus on the question of whether potentiation of the rod-rod bipolar cell signaling in P23H mice can help maintain high-sensitivity night vision.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 7A). This reflexive test was selected to avoid confounding factors caused by potential plasticity in the cortical brain areas that could also promote vision even when retinal output is suppressed (Koskela, Turunen, & Ala-Laurila, 2020). Our aim was to focus on the question of whether potentiation of the rod-rod bipolar cell signaling in P23H mice can help maintain high-sensitivity night vision.…”

Section: Increased Sensitivity Of Rod Bipolar Cells To Their Rod Inpumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Homeostatic plasticity in the retina is associated with maintenance of night vision during retinal degenerative disease

Leinonen

Pham

Boyd

et al. 2020

eLife

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Neuronal plasticity of the inner retina has been observed in response to photoreceptor degeneration. Typically, this phenomenon has been considered maladaptive and may preclude vision restoration in the blind. However, several recent studies utilizing triggered photoreceptor ablation have shown adaptive responses in bipolar cells expected to support normal vision. Whether such homeostatic plasticity occurs during progressive photoreceptor degenerative disease to help maintain normal visual behavior is unknown. We addressed this issue in an established mouse model of Retinitis Pigmentosa caused by the P23H mutation in rhodopsin. We show robust modulation of the retinal transcriptomic network, reminiscent of the neurodevelopmental state, and potentiation of rod – rod bipolar cell signaling following rod photoreceptor degeneration. Additionally, we found highly sensitive night vision in P23H mice even when more than half of the rod photoreceptors were lost. These results suggest retinal adaptation leading to persistent visual function during photoreceptor degenerative disease.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Increased Sensitivity Of Rod Bipolar Cells To Their Rod Inpumentioning

confidence: 99%

Homeostatic plasticity in the retina is associated with maintenance of night vision during retinal degenerative disease

Leinonen

Pham

Boyd

et al. 2020

eLife

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“…Due to the nocturnal nature of mice, behavior testing was conducted during their active period (the dark phase of 12/12-h light/dark cycle) to represent a more accurate assessment and minimize interference of their circadian cycle. Circadian cycle affects motor activity in mice, with less activity and movement in the light phase (Ma et al, 2011;Koskela et al, 2020). Additionally, mice are considered insensitive to red light (Peirson et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulation of Hippocampal GABAergic Neurotransmission and Gephyrin Levels by Dihydromyricetin Improves Anxiety

et al. 2020

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Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. and are estimated to consume one-third of the country's mental health spending. Although anxiolytic therapies are available, many patients exhibit treatment-resistance, relapse, or substantial side effects. An urgent need exists to explore the underlying mechanisms of chronic anxiety and to develop alternative therapies. Presently, we identified dihydromyricetin (DHM), a flavonoid that has anxiolytic properties in a mouse model of isolation-induced anxiety. Socially isolated mice demonstrated increased anxiety levels and reduced exploratory behavior measured by elevated plus-maze and open-field tests. Socially isolated mice showed impaired GABAergic neurotransmission, including reduction in GABA A receptormediated extrasynaptic tonic currents, as well as amplitude and frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents measured by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from hippocampal slices. Furthermore, intracellular ATP levels and gephyrin expression decreased in anxious animals. DHM treatment restored ATP and gephyrin expression, GABAergic transmission and synaptic function, as well as decreased anxiety-like behavior. Our findings indicate broader roles for DHM in anxiolysis, GABAergic neurotransmission, and synaptic function. Collectively, our data suggest that reduction in intracellular ATP and gephyrin contribute to the development of anxiety, and represent novel treatment targets. DHM is a potential candidate for pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders.

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“…We have previously identified the three alpha RGC types in the mouse retina (OFF sustained, OFF transient, and ON sustained, hereafter referred to as OFF-S, OFF-T, and ON-S) as the most sensitive cell types for light increments in darkness, where RGCs receive their inputs via the rod bipolar pathway (Koskela et al, 2020;Smeds et al, 2019).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retinal OFF ganglion cells allow detection of quantal shadows at starlight

Westö

Martyniuk

Koskela

et al. 2021

Preprint

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SUMMARYPerception of light in darkness requires no more than a handful of photons and this remarkable behavioral performance can be directly linked to a particular retinal circuit – the retinal ON pathway. However, the neural limits to shadow detection in very dim light have remained unresolved. Here, we unravel the neural mechanisms that determine the sensitivity of mice to the dimmest light decrements by measuring signals from the most sensitive ON and OFF retinal ganglion cell types and by correlating their signals with visually guided behavior. We show that mice can detect shadows when only a few photon absorptions are missing among thousands of rods. Behavioral detection of “quantal” shadows relies only on the retinal OFF pathway and is limited by noise and losses of single-photon signals in retinal processing. Thus, in the dim-light regime, light increments and decrements are encoded separately via the ON and OFF retinal pathways, respectively.

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Mice Reach Higher Visual Sensitivity at Night by Using a More Efficient Behavioral Strategy

Cited by 15 publications

References 92 publications

Homeostatic plasticity in the retina is associated with maintenance of night vision during retinal degenerative disease

Homeostatic plasticity in the retina is associated with maintenance of night vision during retinal degenerative disease

Modulation of Hippocampal GABAergic Neurotransmission and Gephyrin Levels by Dihydromyricetin Improves Anxiety

Retinal OFF ganglion cells allow detection of quantal shadows at starlight

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