How retinal microcircuits scale for ganglion cells of different size
- PMID: 7472518
- PMCID: PMC6578046
- DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-11-07673.1995
How retinal microcircuits scale for ganglion cells of different size
Abstract
Ganglion cell receptive field centers are small in central retina and larger toward periphery. Accompanying this expansion, the distribution of sensitivity across the centers remain Gaussian, but peak sensitivities decline. To identify circuitry that might explain this physiology, we measured the density of bipolar cell synapses on the dendritic membrane of beta (X) and alpha (Y) ganglion cells and the distribution of dendritic membrane across their dendritic fields. Both central and peripheral beta cells receive bipolar cell synapses at a density of approximately 28/100 microns2 of dendritic membrane; central and peripheral alpha cells receive approximately 13/100 microns2. The distribution of dendritic membrane across the dendritic field is dome-like; therefore, the distribution of bipolar cell synapses is also dome-like. As the dendritic field enlarges, total postsynaptic membrane increases with field radius, but only linearly. Consequently, density of postsynaptic membrane in the dendritic field declines, and so does density of synapses within the field. The results suggest a simple model in which the receptive field center's Gaussian profile and peak sensitivity are both set by the density of bipolar cell synapses across the dendritic field.
Similar articles
-
Shedding light on class-specific wiring: development of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell circuitry.Mol Neurobiol. 2011 Dec;44(3):321-9. doi: 10.1007/s12035-011-8199-8. Epub 2011 Aug 23. Mol Neurobiol. 2011. PMID: 21861091 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Synaptic inputs to identified color-coded amacrine and ganglion cells in the turtle retina.J Comp Neurol. 1997 Dec 15;389(2):235-48. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19971215)389:2<235::aid-cne4>3.0.co;2-2. J Comp Neurol. 1997. PMID: 9416919
-
OFF-alpha and OFF-beta ganglion cells in cat retina: II. Neural circuitry as revealed by electron microscopy of HRP stains.J Comp Neurol. 1993 Mar 1;329(1):85-110. doi: 10.1002/cne.903290107. J Comp Neurol. 1993. PMID: 8454727
-
On and off pathways through amacrine cells in mammalian retina: the synaptic connections of "starburst" amacrine cells.Vision Res. 1983;23(11):1265-79. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(83)90102-5. Vision Res. 1983. PMID: 6362185 Review.
-
Synaptic inputs to physiologically identified retinal X-cells in the cat.J Comp Neurol. 1991 Dec 8;314(2):350-66. doi: 10.1002/cne.903140210. J Comp Neurol. 1991. PMID: 1787179
Cited by
-
Regional Variation of Gap Junctional Connections in the Mammalian Inner Retina.Cells. 2021 Sep 12;10(9):2396. doi: 10.3390/cells10092396. Cells. 2021. PMID: 34572046 Free PMC article.
-
Visual Deprivation Retards the Maturation of Dendritic Fields and Receptive Fields of Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells.Front Cell Neurosci. 2021 Apr 27;15:640421. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.640421. eCollection 2021. Front Cell Neurosci. 2021. PMID: 33986645 Free PMC article.
-
Connexin-36 distribution and layer-specific topography in the cat retina.Brain Struct Funct. 2019 Jul;224(6):2183-2197. doi: 10.1007/s00429-019-01876-y. Epub 2019 Jun 6. Brain Struct Funct. 2019. PMID: 31172263 Free PMC article.
-
Cardinal Orientation Selectivity Is Represented by Two Distinct Ganglion Cell Types in Mouse Retina.J Neurosci. 2016 Mar 16;36(11):3208-21. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4554-15.2016. J Neurosci. 2016. PMID: 26985031 Free PMC article.
-
The functional asymmetry of ON and OFF channels in the perception of contrast.J Neurophysiol. 2015 Nov;114(5):2816-29. doi: 10.1152/jn.00560.2015. Epub 2015 Sep 2. J Neurophysiol. 2015. PMID: 26334011 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Research Materials
