Retina horizontal cell

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Horizontal cell
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Plan of retinal neurons.
Details
System Visual system
Location Retina
Identifiers
MeSH D051248
NeuroLex ID nifext_40
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

Horizontal cells are the laterally interconnecting neurons having cell bodies in the inner nuclear layer of the retina of vertebrate eyes. They help integrate and regulate the input from multiple photoreceptor cells. Among their functions, horizontal cells are believed to be responsible for increasing contrast via lateral inhibition and adapting both to bright and dim light conditions. Horizontal cells provide inhibitory feedback to rod and cone photoreceptors. [1] [2] They are thought to be important for the antagonistic center-surround property of the receptive fields of many types of retinal ganglion cells. [3]

Contents

Other retinal neurons include photoreceptor cells, bipolar cells, amacrine cells, and retinal ganglion cells.

Structure

Depending on the species, there are typically one or two classes of horizontal cells, with a third type sometimes proposed. [1] [2]

Horizontal cells span across photoreceptors and summate inputs before synapsing onto photoreceptor cells. [1] [2] Horizontal cells may also synapse onto bipolar cells, but this remains uncertain. [1] [4]

There is a greater density of horizontal cells towards the central region of the retina. In the cat, it is observed that A-type horizontal cells have a density of 225 cells/mm2 near the center of the retina and a density of 120 cells/mm2 in more peripheral retina. [5]

Horizontal cells and other retinal interneuron cells are less likely to be near neighbours of the same subtype than would occur by chance, resulting in ‘exclusion zones’ that separate them. Mosaic arrangements provide a mechanism to distribute each cell type evenly across the retina, ensuring that all parts of the visual field have access to a full set of processing elements. [5] MEGF10 and MEGF11 transmembrane proteins have critical roles in the formation of the mosaics by horizontal cells and starburst amacrine cells in mice. [6]

Function

Horizontal cells are depolarized by the release of glutamate from photoreceptors, which happens in the absence of light. Depolarization of a horizontal cell causes it to hyperpolarize nearby photoreceptors. Conversely, in the light, a photoreceptor releases less glutamate, which hyperpolarizes the horizontal cell, leading to depolarization of nearby photoreceptors. Thus, horizontal cells provide negative feedback to photoreceptors. The moderately wide lateral spread and coupling of horizontal cells by gap junctions, measures the average level of illumination falling upon a region of the retinal surface, which horizontal cells then subtract a proportionate value from the output of photoreceptors to hold the signal input to the inner retinal circuitry within its operating range. [1] Horizontal cells are also one of two groups of inhibitory interneurons that contribute to the surround of retinal ganglion cells: [2]

Illumination Center photoreceptor hyperpolarization Horizontal cell hyperpolarization Surround photoreceptor depolarization

The exact mechanism by which depolarization of horizontal cells hyperpolarizes photoreceptors is uncertain. Although horizontal cells contain GABA, the main mechanisms by which horizontal cells inhibit cones probably do not involve the release of GABA by horizontal cells onto cones. [4] [7] [8] Two mechanisms that are not mutually exclusive likely contribute to horizontal cell inhibition of glutamate release by cones. Both postulated mechanisms depend on the protected environment provided by the invaginating synapses that horizontal cells make onto cones. [4] [9] The first postulated mechanism is a very fast ephaptic mechanism that has no synaptic delay, making it one of the fastest inhibitory synapses known. [4] [10] [11] The second postulated mechanism is relatively slow with a time constant of about 200 ms and depends on ATP release via Pannexin 1 channels located on horizontal cell dendrites invaginating the cone synaptic terminal. The ecto-ATPase NTPDase1 hydrolyses extracellular ATP to AMP, phosphate groups, and protons. The phosphate groups and protons form a pH buffer with a pKa of 7.2, which keeps the pH in the synaptic cleft relatively acidic. This inhibits the cone Ca2+ channels and consequently reduces the glutamate release by the cones. [4] [11] [12] [13] [14]

The center-surround antagonism of bipolar cells is thought to be inherited from cones. However, when recordings are made from parts of the cone that are distant from the cone terminals that synapse onto bipolar cells, center-surround antagonism seems to be less reliable in cones than in bipolar cells. As the invaginating synapses from horizontal cells are made onto cone terminals, the center-surround antagonism of cones is thought to be more reliably present in cone terminals. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retina</span> Part of the eye

The retina is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then processes that image within the retina and sends nerve impulses along the optic nerve to the visual cortex to create visual perception. The retina serves a function which is in many ways analogous to that of the film or image sensor in a camera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photoreceptor cell</span> Type of neuroepithelial cell

A photoreceptor cell is a specialized type of neuroepithelial cell found in the retina that is capable of visual phototransduction. The great biological importance of photoreceptors is that they convert light into signals that can stimulate biological processes. To be more specific, photoreceptor proteins in the cell absorb photons, triggering a change in the cell's membrane potential.

An inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) is a kind of synaptic potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential. IPSPs were first investigated in motorneurons by David P. C. Lloyd, John Eccles and Rodolfo Llinás in the 1950s and 1960s. The opposite of an inhibitory postsynaptic potential is an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), which is a synaptic potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron more likely to generate an action potential. IPSPs can take place at all chemical synapses, which use the secretion of neurotransmitters to create cell to cell signalling. Inhibitory presynaptic neurons release neurotransmitters that then bind to the postsynaptic receptors; this induces a change in the permeability of the postsynaptic neuronal membrane to particular ions. An electric current that changes the postsynaptic membrane potential to create a more negative postsynaptic potential is generated, i.e. the postsynaptic membrane potential becomes more negative than the resting membrane potential, and this is called hyperpolarisation. To generate an action potential, the postsynaptic membrane must depolarize—the membrane potential must reach a voltage threshold more positive than the resting membrane potential. Therefore, hyperpolarisation of the postsynaptic membrane makes it less likely for depolarisation to sufficiently occur to generate an action potential in the postsynaptic neurone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod cell</span> Photoreceptor cells that can function in lower light better than cone cells

Rod cells are photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that can function in lower light better than the other type of visual photoreceptor, cone cells. Rods are usually found concentrated at the outer edges of the retina and are used in peripheral vision. On average, there are approximately 92 million rod cells in the human retina. Rod cells are more sensitive than cone cells and are almost entirely responsible for night vision. However, rods have little role in color vision, which is the main reason why colors are much less apparent in dim light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retinal ganglion cell</span> Type of cell within the eye

A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface of the retina of the eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and retina amacrine cells. Retina amacrine cells, particularly narrow field cells, are important for creating functional subunits within the ganglion cell layer and making it so that ganglion cells can observe a small dot moving a small distance. Retinal ganglion cells collectively transmit image-forming and non-image forming visual information from the retina in the form of action potential to several regions in the thalamus, hypothalamus, and mesencephalon, or midbrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sensory neuron</span> Nerve cell that converts environmental stimuli into corresponding internal stimuli

Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded receptor potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are located in the dorsal ganglia of the spinal cord.

The receptive field, or sensory space, is a delimited medium where some physiological stimuli can evoke a sensory neuronal response in specific organisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retina bipolar cell</span> Type of neuron

As a part of the retina, bipolar cells exist between photoreceptors and ganglion cells. They act, directly or indirectly, to transmit signals from the photoreceptors to the ganglion cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motion perception</span> Inferring the speed and direction of objects

Motion perception is the process of inferring the speed and direction of elements in a scene based on visual, vestibular and proprioceptive inputs. Although this process appears straightforward to most observers, it has proven to be a difficult problem from a computational perspective, and difficult to explain in terms of neural processing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electroretinography</span>

Electroretinography measures the electrical responses of various cell types in the retina, including the photoreceptors, inner retinal cells, and the ganglion cells. Electrodes are placed on the surface of the cornea or on the skin beneath the eye to measure retinal responses. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) responses are measured with an EOG test with skin-contact electrodes placed near the canthi. During a recording, the patient's eyes are exposed to standardized stimuli and the resulting signal is displayed showing the time course of the signal's amplitude (voltage). Signals are very small, and typically are measured in microvolts or nanovolts. The ERG is composed of electrical potentials contributed by different cell types within the retina, and the stimulus conditions can elicit stronger response from certain components.

Visual phototransduction is the sensory transduction process of the visual system by which light is detected to yield nerve impulses in the rod cells and cone cells in the retina of the eye in humans and other vertebrates. It relies on the visual cycle, a sequence of biochemical reactions in which a molecule of retinal bound to opsin undergoes photoisomerization, initiates a cascade that signals detection of the photon, and is indirectly restored to its photosensitive isomer for reuse. Phototransduction in some invertebrates such as fruit flies relies on similar processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amacrine cell</span> Interneuron cells in the retina of the eye

In the anatomy of the eye, amacrine cells are interneurons in the retina. They are named from Greek a– 'non', makr– 'long', and in– 'fiber', because of their short neuronal processes. Amacrine cells are inhibitory neurons, and they project their dendritic arbors onto the inner plexiform layer (IPL), they interact with retinal ganglion cells, and bipolar cells or both of these.

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), also called photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGC), or melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs), are a type of neuron in the retina of the mammalian eye. The presence of ipRGCs was first suspected in 1927 when rodless, coneless mice still responded to a light stimulus through pupil constriction, This implied that rods and cones are not the only light-sensitive neurons in the retina. Yet research on these cells did not advance until the 1980s. Recent research has shown that these retinal ganglion cells, unlike other retinal ganglion cells, are intrinsically photosensitive due to the presence of melanopsin, a light-sensitive protein. Therefore, they constitute a third class of photoreceptors, in addition to rod and cone cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congenital stationary night blindness</span> Medical condition

Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) is a rare non-progressive retinal disorder. People with CSNB often have difficulty adapting to low light situations due to impaired photoreceptor transmission. These patients may also have reduced visual acuity, myopia, nystagmus, and strabismus. CSNB has two forms -- complete, also known as type-1 (CSNB1), and incomplete, also known as type-2 (CSNB2), which are distinguished by the involvement of different retinal pathways. In CSNB1, downstream neurons called bipolar cells are unable to detect neurotransmission from photoreceptor cells. CSNB1 can be caused by mutations in various genes involved in neurotransmitter detection, including NYX. In CSNB2, the photoreceptors themselves have impaired neurotransmission function; this is caused primarily by mutations in the gene CACNA1F, which encodes a voltage-gated calcium channel important for neurotransmitter release. CSNB has been identified in horses and dogs as the result of mutations in TRPM1, GRM6, and LRIT3 .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bipolar neuron</span> Neuron with only one axon and one dendrite

A bipolar neuron, or bipolar cell, is a type of neuron that has two extensions. Many bipolar cells are specialized sensory neurons for the transmission of sense. As such, they are part of the sensory pathways for smell, sight, taste, hearing, touch, balance and proprioception. The other shape classifications of neurons include unipolar, pseudounipolar and multipolar. During embryonic development, pseudounipolar neurons begin as bipolar in shape but become pseudounipolar as they mature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metabotropic glutamate receptor 6</span> Mammalian protein found in humans

Glutamate receptor, metabotropic 6, also known as GRM6 or mGluR6, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the GRM6 gene.

The ribbon synapse is a type of neuronal synapse characterized by the presence of an electron-dense structure, the synaptic ribbon, that holds vesicles close to the active zone. It is characterized by a tight vesicle-calcium channel coupling that promotes rapid neurotransmitter release and sustained signal transmission. Ribbon synapses undergo a cycle of exocytosis and endocytosis in response to graded changes of membrane potential. It has been proposed that most ribbon synapses undergo a special type of exocytosis based on coordinated multivesicular release. This interpretation has recently been questioned at the inner hair cell ribbon synapse, where it has been instead proposed that exocytosis is described by uniquantal release shaped by a flickering vesicle fusion pore.

Retinal waves are spontaneous bursts of action potentials that propagate in a wave-like fashion across the developing retina. These waves occur before rod and cone maturation and before vision can occur. The signals from retinal waves drive the activity in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) and the primary visual cortex. The waves are thought to propagate across neighboring cells in random directions determined by periods of refractoriness that follow the initial depolarization. Retinal waves are thought to have properties that define early connectivity of circuits and synapses between cells in the retina. There is still much debate about the exact role of retinal waves. Some contend that the waves are instructional in the formation of retinogeniculate pathways, while others argue that the activity is necessary but not instructional in the formation of retinogeniculate pathways.

Frank Werblin is Professor of the Graduate School, Division of Neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley.

AII amacrine cells are a subtype of amacrine cells present in the retina of mammals. AII amacrine cell serve the critical role of transferring light signals from rod photoreceptors to the retinal ganglion cells

References

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  10. ↑ Kamermans M, Fahrenfort I, Schultz K, Janssen-Bienhold U, Sjoerdsma T, Weiler R (May 2001). "Hemichannel-mediated inhibition in the outer retina". Science. 292 (5519): 1178–80. Bibcode:2001Sci...292.1178K. doi:10.1126/science.1060101. PMID   11349152. S2CID   20660565.
  11. 1 2 Vroman R, Klaassen LJ, Howlett MH, Cenedese V, Klooster J, Sjoerdsma T, Kamermans M (May 2014). "Extracellular ATP hydrolysis inhibits synaptic transmission by increasing ph buffering in the synaptic cleft". PLOS Biol. 12 (5): e1001864. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001864 . PMC   4028192 . PMID   24844296.
  12. ↑ Hirasawa H, Kaneko A (December 2003). "pH changes in the invaginating synaptic cleft mediate feedback from horizontal cells to cone photoreceptors by modulating Ca2+ channels". J. Gen. Physiol. 122 (6): 657–71. doi:10.1085/jgp.200308863. PMC   2229595 . PMID   14610018.
  13. ↑ Vessey JP, Stratis AK, Daniels BA, Da Silva N, Jonz MG, Lalonde MR, Baldridge WH, Barnes S (April 2005). "Proton-mediated feedback inhibition of presynaptic calcium channels at the cone photoreceptor synapse". J. Neurosci. 25 (16): 4108–17. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5253-04.2005 . PMC   6724943 . PMID   15843613.
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