scholarly journals Blurring the Boundaries of Vision: Novel Functions of Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. JEN.S11267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Matynia
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Cone Photoreceptors ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Rod And Cone Photoreceptors

Mammalian vision consists of the classic image-forming pathway involving rod and cone photoreceptors interacting through a neural network within the retina before sending signals to the brain, and a non image-forming pathway that uses a photosensitive cell employing an alternative and evolutionary ancient phototransduction system and a direct connection to various centers in the brain. Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) contain the photopigment melanopsin, which is independently capable of photon detection while also receiving synaptic input from rod and cone photoreceptors via bipolar cells. These cells are the retinal sentry for subconscious visual processing that controls circadian photoentrainment and the pupillary light reflex. Classified as irradiance detectors, recent investigations have led to expanding roles for this specific cell type and its own neural pathways, some of which are blurring the boundaries between image-forming and non image-forming visual processes.

scholarly journals T132. RETINAL GANGLION CELLS DYSFUNCTIONS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S280-S281
Author(s):  
Florent Bernadin ◽  
Thomas Schwitzer ◽  
Vincent Laprevote ◽  
Raymund Schwan
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Wave Amplitude ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Bipolar Cells ◽  
Implicit Time ◽  
Clinical Electrophysiology ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Functional Responses

Abstract Background Structural and functional retinal anomalies are documented in neurologic, substance use and psychiatric disorders. In schizophrenia, flash electroretinogram (fERG) measures have revealed photoreceptors, bipolar cells and retinal ganglion cells (RGC) dysfunctions. To date, no study has explored RGC using a pattern electroretinogram (pERG) protocol as recommended by the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) standards for RGC measurements. We aim to study retinal functional responses of the photoreceptors and RGC in schizophrenia patients in comparison with healthy controls. Methods fERG conducted in scotopic (dark-adapted 0.01 and dark-adapted 3.0 ERG) and photopic conditions (light-adapted 3.0 ERG) and pERG were recorded in schizophrenia patients (n=29) and healthy controls (n=29). PERG provides the measurements of 2 waves: the P50 wave which arises in RGC with a contribution of bipolar cells and relates to the spatial distribution and density of the RGC bodies and the N95 wave which represents ganglion cell activity. Results fERG results showed a decrease in the b-wave amplitude (t(51)=-3.4, p<.05, d=0.63) (dark-adapted 0.01 ERG), a-wave amplitude (t(48)=4.7, p<.001, d =1.33) (dark-adapted 3.0 ERG), b-wave amplitude (t(48)=-2.8, p<.005, d=0.78) (dark-adapted 3.0 ERG), a-wave amplitude (t(52)=2.8, p<.001, d=0.29) (light-adapted 3.0 ERG) in schizophrenia patients compared to controls. We found as well a significant decrease of the a-wave implicit time (t(52)=-2.5, p<.05, d =1.19) (light-adapted 3.0 ERG) in schizophrenia patients compared to controls. pERG results showed a significant increase of the P50 (t(55)=2.1, p<.05, d=0.55) and a significant increase of the N95 implicit time in schizophrenia patients compared with controls (t(55)=4.2; p<.001, d=0.66). Discussion Our results replicate previous findings regarding photoreceptors and bipolar cells dysfunction in schizophrenia patients. pERG results demonstrate a delay in transmission of action potentials by the ganglion cells along the visual pathway via the optic nerve and the lateral geniculate nucleus to the visual cortex in schizophrenia patients which could support alterations in cerebral visual processing in schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells control the information rate of the optic nerve

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (50) ◽  
pp. E11817-E11826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Milosavljevic ◽  
Riccardo Storchi ◽  
Cyril G. Eleftheriou ◽  
Andrea Colins ◽  
Rasmus S. Petersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optic Nerve ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Ambient Light ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Light Irradiance ◽  
The Brain

Information transfer in the brain relies upon energetically expensive spiking activity of neurons. Rates of information flow should therefore be carefully optimized, but mechanisms to control this parameter are poorly understood. We address this deficit in the visual system, where ambient light (irradiance) is predictive of the amount of information reaching the eye and ask whether a neural measure of irradiance can therefore be used to proactively control information flow along the optic nerve. We first show that firing rates for the retina’s output neurons [retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)] scale with irradiance and are positively correlated with rates of information and the gain of visual responses. Irradiance modulates firing in the absence of any other visual signal confirming that this is a genuine response to changing ambient light. Irradiance-driven changes in firing are observed across the population of RGCs (including in both ON and OFF units) but are disrupted in mice lacking melanopsin [the photopigment of irradiance-coding intrinsically photosensitive RGCs (ipRGCs)] and can be induced under steady light exposure by chemogenetic activation of ipRGCs. Artificially elevating firing by chemogenetic excitation of ipRGCs is sufficient to increase information flow by increasing the gain of visual responses, indicating that enhanced firing is a cause of increased information transfer at higher irradiance. Our results establish a retinal circuitry driving changes in RGC firing as an active response to alterations in ambient light to adjust the amount of visual information transmitted to the brain.

scholarly journals A method for single-neuron chronic recording from the retina in awake mice

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 360 (6396) ◽  
pp. 1447-1451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guosong Hong ◽  
Tian-Ming Fu ◽  
Mu Qiao ◽  
Robert D. Viveros ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Chronic Recording ◽  
The Brain

The retina, which processes visual information and sends it to the brain, is an excellent model for studying neural circuitry. It has been probed extensively ex vivo but has been refractory to chronic in vivo electrophysiology. We report a nonsurgical method to achieve chronically stable in vivo recordings from single retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in awake mice. We developed a noncoaxial intravitreal injection scheme in which injected mesh electronics unrolls inside the eye and conformally coats the highly curved retina without compromising normal eye functions. The method allows 16-channel recordings from multiple types of RGCs with stable responses to visual stimuli for at least 2 weeks, and reveals circadian rhythms in RGC responses over multiple day/night cycles.

The Biomechanical Response of Normal and Glaucoma Human Sclera

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baptiste Coudrillier ◽  
Kristin M. Myers ◽  
Thao D. Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Progressive Degeneration ◽  
Biomechanical Response ◽  
Elevated Intraocular Pressure ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

By 2010, 60 million people will have glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness worldwide [1]. The disease is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells (RGC), a type of neuron that transmits visual information to the brain. It is well know that elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor in the damage to the RGCs [3–5], but the relationship between the mechanical properties of the ocular connective tissue and how it affects cellular function is not well characterized. The cornea and the sclera are collage-rich structures that comprise the outer load-bearing shell of the eye. Their preferentially aligned collagen lamellae provide mechanical strength to resist ocular expansion. Previous uniaxial tension studies suggest that altered viscoelastic material properties of the eye wall play a role in glaucomatous damage [6].

Next-Generation Techniques for Analysis of Lamina Cribrosa Microstructure

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Ross Ethier ◽  
Richie Abel ◽  
E. A. Sander ◽  
John G. Flanagan ◽  
Michael Girard
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Intraocular Pressure ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Lamina Cribrosa ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Irreversible Damage ◽  
Ocular Disorders ◽  
The Brain

Glaucoma describes a group of potentially blinding ocular disorders, afflicting c. 60 million people worldwide. Of these, c. 8 million are bilaterally blind, estimated to increase to 11 million by 2020. The central event in glaucoma is slow and irreversible damage of retinal ganglion cells, responsible for carrying visual information from the retina to the brain (Figure 1). Intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor for glaucoma1–4, and significant, sustained IOP reduction is unequivocally beneficial in the clinical management of glaucoma patients2, 3, 5. Unfortunately, we do not understand how elevated IOP leads to the loss of retinal ganglion cells.

scholarly journals Molecular codes for cell type specification in Brn3 retinal ganglion cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (20) ◽  
pp. E3974-E3983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Szilard Sajgo ◽  
Miruna Georgiana Ghinia ◽  
Matthew Brooks ◽  
Friedrich Kretschmer ◽  
Katherine Chuang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Type Specification ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Combinatorial Code

Visual information is conveyed from the eye to the brain by distinct types of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). It is largely unknown how RGCs acquire their defining morphological and physiological features and connect to upstream and downstream synaptic partners. The three Brn3/Pou4f transcription factors (TFs) participate in a combinatorial code for RGC type specification, but their exact molecular roles are still unclear. We use deep sequencing to define (i) transcriptomes of Brn3a- and/or Brn3b-positive RGCs, (ii) Brn3a- and/or Brn3b-dependent RGC transcripts, and (iii) transcriptomes of retinorecipient areas of the brain at developmental stages relevant for axon guidance, dendrite formation, and synaptogenesis. We reveal a combinatorial code of TFs, cell surface molecules, and determinants of neuronal morphology that is differentially expressed in specific RGC populations and selectively regulated by Brn3a and/or Brn3b. This comprehensive molecular code provides a basis for understanding neuronal cell type specification in RGCs.

scholarly journals Effects of Iron and Zinc on Mitochondria: Potential Mechanisms of Glaucomatous Injury

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiahui Tang ◽  
Yehong Zhuo ◽  
Yiqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Ganglion Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Current View ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Iron And Zinc ◽  
The Brain

Glaucoma is the most substantial cause of irreversible blinding, which is accompanied by progressive retinal ganglion cell damage. Retinal ganglion cells are energy-intensive neurons that connect the brain and retina, and depend on mitochondrial homeostasis to transduce visual information through the brain. As cofactors that regulate many metabolic signals, iron and zinc have attracted increasing attention in studies on neurons and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we summarize the research connecting iron, zinc, neuronal mitochondria, and glaucomatous injury, with the aim of updating and expanding the current view of how retinal ganglion cells degenerate in glaucoma, which can reveal novel potential targets for neuroprotection.

scholarly journals Adaptation in cone photoreceptors contributes to an unexpected insensitivity of On parasol retinal ganglion cells to spatial structure in natural images

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Yu ◽  
Maxwell H Turner ◽  
Fred Rieke
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Nonlinear Behavior ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Cone Photoreceptors ◽  
Strongly Nonlinear ◽  
Visual Inputs

Neural circuits are constructed from nonlinear building blocks, and not surprisingly overall circuit behavior is often strongly nonlinear. But neural circuits can also behave near linearly, and some circuits shift from linear to nonlinear behavior depending on stimulus conditions. Such control of the linearity or nonlinearity of circuit behavior is fundamental to neural computation. Here we study a surprising stimulus dependence of the responses of On (but not Off) parasol retinal ganglion cells: these cells respond nonlinearly to spatial structure in temporally-modulated grating stimuli but linearly to spatial structure in flashed gratings and natural visual inputs. We show that this unexpected response linearity can be explained by a shift in the balance of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs that originates at least in part from adaptation in the cone photoreceptors. More generally, this highlights how subtle asymmetries in signaling - here in the cone signals - can qualitatively alter circuit computation.

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