Y-Like Retinal Ganglion Cells Innervate the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus in the Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Luan, Liju; Ren, Chaoran; Lau, Benson Wui-Man; Yang, Jian; Pickard, Gary E.; So, Kwok-Fai; Pu, Mingliang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018938

Cited by 29 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The sizes of dendritic fields and diameters of somata of the cPAG-projecting RGCs were smaller than those of dorsal raphe nuclei (DRN)-projecting alpha cells in this species [4]. Apparent overlapping dendritic fields were found among close cPAG-projecting RGCs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Dendritic Morphology of Caudal Periaqueductal Gray Projecting Retinal Ganglion Cells in Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Ren

Cui

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study we investigated the morphological features of the caudal periaqueductal gray (cPAG)-projecting retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in Mongolian gerbils using retrograde labeling, in vitro intracellular injection, confocal microscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction approaches. cPAG-projecting RGCs exhibit small somata (10–17 µm) and irregular dendritic fields (201–298 µm). Sizes of somata and dendritic fields do not show obvious variation at different distance from the optic disk (eccentricity). Dendrites are moderately branched. Morphological analysis (n = 23) reveals that cPAG-projecting RGCs ramified in sublamina a and b in the inner plexiform layer. These cells exhibit different stratification patterns based on the thickness of dendritic bands in sublaminas a and b: majority of analyzed cells (16 out of 23) have two bands of arborizations share similar thickness. The rest of analyzed cells (7 out of 23) exhibit thinner band in sublamina a than in sublamina b. Together, the present study suggests that cPAG of Mongolian gerbil could receive direct retinal inputs from two types of bistratified RGCs. Furthermore, a small subset of melanopsin-expressing RGCs (total 41 in 6 animals) is shown to innervate the rostral PAG (rPAG). Functional characteristics of these non-visual center projecting RGCs remain to be determined.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Dendritic Morphology of Caudal Periaqueductal Gray Projecting Retinal Ganglion Cells in Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Ren

Cui

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We next asked whether RGCs in the mouse send axon collaterals to the DRN and SC, similar to those in the gerbil23. Using CTB tracer injections into the DRN (CTB-488) and SC (CTB-594) to retrogradely label RGCs ( n =4 animals) (Supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The DRN in several species including primates receives retinal afferents and DRN-projecting retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) regulate serotonergic signalling in the brain2122. It is worth noting that in the Mongolian gerbil DRN-projecting RGCs also send collateral branches to the SC23. Therefore, if the DRN received looming-related signals transmitted from RGCs with branching axons innervating the SC, it might be in a position to modulate looming-evoked behaviour via its extensive 5-HT projections.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animals promote their survival by avoiding rapidly approaching objects that indicate threats. In mice, looming-evoked defensive responses are triggered by the superior colliculus (SC) which receives direct retinal inputs. However, the specific neural circuits that begin in the retina and mediate this important behaviour remain unclear. Here we identify a subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that controls mouse looming-evoked defensive responses through axonal collaterals to the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and SC. Looming signals transmitted by DRN-projecting RGCs activate DRN GABAergic neurons that in turn inhibit serotoninergic neurons. Moreover, activation of DRN serotoninergic neurons reduces looming-evoked defensive behaviours. Thus, a dedicated population of RGCs signals rapidly approaching visual threats and their input to the DRN controls a serotonergic self-gating mechanism that regulates innate defensive responses. Our study provides new insights into how the DRN and SC work in concert to extract and translate visual threats into defensive behavioural responses.

show abstract

“…Thus, squirrel definitely has M4 cells, though the lack of melanopsin immunostaining points to the absence of M1 or M2. In a paper examining gerbil RGCs innervating the dorsal raphe nucleus, a melanopsin-positive RGC is shown and it appears to be bistratified, suggesting it was M3 (Luan et al, 2011). Interestingly, Luan et al found that rod/cone blockade abolished all ON alpha RGCs’ photoresponses, indicating that intrinsic photosensitivity is not common to all ON alpha cells.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rat retina has five types of ganglion-cell photoreceptors

Reifler

Chervenak

Dolikian

et al. 2015

Experimental Eye Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are inner retinal photoreceptors that mediate non-image-forming visual functions, e.g. pupillary constriction, regulation of pineal melatonin release, and circadian photoentrainment. Five types of ipRGCs were recently discovered in mouse, but whether they exist in other mammals remained unknown. We report that the rat also has five types of ipRGCs, whose morphologies match those of mouse ipRGCs; this is the first demonstration of all five cell types in a non-mouse species. Through immunostaining and λmax measurements, we showed that melanopsin is likely the photopigment of all rat ipRGCs. The various cell types exhibited diverse spontaneous spike rates, with the M1 type spiking the least and M4 spiking the most, just like we had observed for their mouse counterparts. Also similar to mouse, all ipRGCs in rat generated not only sluggish intrinsic photoresponses but also fast, synaptically driven ones. However, we noticed two significant differences between these species. First, whereas we learned previously that all mouse ipRGCs had equally sustained synaptic light responses, rat M1 cells’ synaptic photoresponses were far more transient than those of M2–M5. Since M1 cells provide all input to the circadian clock, this rat-versus-mouse discrepancy could explain the difference in photoentrainment threshold between mouse and other species. Second, rat ipRGCs’ melanopsin-based spiking photoresponses could be classified into three varieties, but only two were discerned for mouse ipRGCs. This correlation of spiking photoresponses with cell types will help researchers classify ipRGCs in multielectrode-array (MEA) spike recordings.

show abstract

Y-Like Retinal Ganglion Cells Innervate the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus in the Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Cited by 29 publications

References 53 publications

Dendritic Morphology of Caudal Periaqueductal Gray Projecting Retinal Ganglion Cells in Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Dendritic Morphology of Caudal Periaqueductal Gray Projecting Retinal Ganglion Cells in Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

The rat retina has five types of ganglion-cell photoreceptors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About