Horizontal cells and cone photoreceptors in human retina: A Golgi-electron microscopic study of spectral connectivity (original) (raw)

Horizontal cells and cone photoreceptors in primate retina: A Golgi-light microscopic study of spectral connectivity

The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1994

The relationship of primate horizontal cells (HC) to cone pedicles was assessed by superimposing the cone inner segment mosaic upon Golgi-impregnated HC dendritic terminal clusters in a light microscope (LM) study. The HI, HII, and HI11 types of HC were identified, hand-drawn, photographed, and analyzed by computer graphics methods. Blue cone (B-cones) inner segments and their projected pedicles were distinguished from red (R-cones) and green (G-cones) cones on morphological criteria. Thus the inclusion or avoidance of B-cone pedicles by the various HC types' dendritic terminal clusters establishes whether there is any color specificity to their connections. In addition, we made counts of the number of dendritic terminals in the clusters going to cone pedicles in the various HCs' dendritic fields and plotted these against distances the cone pedicles lay from the cell body. In this way we could evaluate the weighting of spectral type of cone input.

Horizontal cells of the rabbit retina are non-selectively connected to the cones

European Journal of Neuroscience, 1999

Mammalian horizontal cells have generally been assumed to be spectrally non-selective in their cone contacts until recently, when speci®c contacts have been found for some species. The rabbit retina is frequently studied as a representative of dichromatic mammalian retinae. These are the reasons for elucidating the connections of the two types of horizontal cells (A-HCs and B-HCs) with the green-sensitive and blue-sensitive cones of the rabbit retina. Individual A-HCs and B-HCs were revealed by Lucifer Yellow injections, the total cone population overlying them was stained using peanut agglutinin, and the blue cones among these were identi®ed by the antiserum JH 455 against blue cone opsin. Both A-HCs and B-HCs indiscriminately contact the two cone types available. This holds for the green cone-dominated dorsal retina and the blue cone-dominated ventral retina. No evidence was found for a third, potentially blue cone-selective, horizontal cell type [postulated by Famiglietti, E. V. (1990) Brain Res., 535, 174±179].

Neurons of the human retina: A Golgi study

The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1992

Golgi techniques have been applied to post mortem specimens of human retina. Analysis was possible on 150 human retinas processed and viewed by light microscopy as wholemounts. Camera lucida drawings and photography were used to classify the impregnated neurons into 3 types of horizontal cell, 9 types of bipolar cell, 24 basic types of amacrine cell, a single type of interplexiform cell, and 18 types of ganglion cell.

S-cone connections of the diffuse bipolar cell type DB6 in macaque monkey retina

The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2004

Previous studies of primate retinae have shown that diffuse bipolar (DB) cells contact all the cones in their dendritic field, suggesting there is no spectral selectivity in the functional input to DB cells. However, since short-wavelength sensitive (S) cones make up less than 10% of the total cone population, specialized connectivity with S-cones is difficult to detect. In the present study, the S-cone connectivity of a subtype of DB cells, the DB6 cell, was studied in macaque monkey retina. Pieces of macaque retina were processed with antibodies to CD15 to stain DB6 cells and antibodies to the S-cone opsin to identify S-cones. Immunoreactivity was visualized using immunoperoxidase or immunofluorescence. Some preparations were additionally processed with peanut agglutinin coupled to fluorescein to reveal medium-and long-wavelength sensitive (M/L) cones. The preparations were analyzed using conventional and deconvolution light microscopy. The majority of DB6 cells had one or two S-cones in their dendritic field and the majority of S-cones were located in the dendritic field of DB6 cells. On average, 80% of the S-cones and 81% of the M/L cones contacted DB6 cells. The average number of dendritic terminals at cone pedicles did not differ between the cone types. However, the total number of DB6 dendritic terminals receiving input from M/L-cone pedicles was about eight times higher than the total number of dendritic terminals at S-cone pedicles.

Color-specific interconnections of cones and horizontal cells in the retina of the goldfish

Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1975

In Golgi preparations of goldfish retina we have observed three types of horizontal cell which receive exclusively from cones and one which receives exclusively from rods. The cone horizontal cells were designated H1, H2 and H3, in order of increasing dendritic spread, increasing separation from the outer synaptic layer, decreasing size of perikaryon, and decreasing density of cone contacts. Slender appendages with knobby terminal enlargements project horizontally from the perikarya and larger dendrites of both rod and cone horizontal cells.We determined patterns of cone inputs to Golgi-impregnated horizontal cells by analyzing serial 1 μm sections with the light microscope. The probable inputs, in terms of visual pigments in the cones which contact them, are: H1, red + green + blue; H2, green + blue; H3, blue. Analysis of previously published work suggests (1) that H1 cells generate monophasic or L-type responses, H2 cells generate biphasic or C1-type responses, and H3 cells generate triphasic or C2-type responses; (2) that H1 cells receive direct functional input at least from red-sensitive cones, H2 cells from green-sensitive cones, and H3 cells from blue-sensitive cones; and (3) that H1 cells constitute pathways from cones to H2 cells, and H2 cells constitute pathways from cones and H1 cells to H3 cells. The precise location and route of the transfers, from H1 to H2 and from H2 to H3, are not yet known.

A-type horizontal cells of the superior edge of the linear visual streak of the rabbit retina have oriented, elongated dendritic trees

Vision Research, 1982

The horizontal cells of the rabbit retina have been studied by light microscopy of Golgiimpregnated whole-mount retinas. The two types of horizontal cell of the rabbit retina are similar to the horizontal cells of the cat retina in most respects. However, the majority of the A-type horizontal cells of the rabbit have asymmetrical dendritic fields compared to the circular. symmetrical dendritic fields of this cell type in the cat. The A-type horizontal cells of the superior edge of the linear visual streak in the rabbit retina are the most strikingly asymmetric and most of them are elongated and oriented in a direction approximately parallel to the linear visual streak. Like HI axon terminals of the turtle retina the oriented. elongated A-type horizontal cells of the rabbit visual streak region may play a role in the neurocircuitry which underlies orientation sensitive ganglion cells.

Inner S-cone bipolar cells provide all of the central elements for S cones in macaque retina

The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2003

Synaptic terminals of cones (pedicles) are presynaptic to numerous processes that arise from the dendrites of many types of bipolar cell. One kind of process, a central element, reaches deeply into invaginations of the cone pedicle just below an active zone associated with a synaptic ribbon. By reconstruction from serial electron micrographs, we show that L-and M-cone pedicles in macaque fovea are presynaptic to ϳ20 central elements that arise from two types of inner (invaginating) bipolar cell, midget and diffuse. In contrast, S-cone pedicles, with more synaptic ribbons, active zones/ribbon, and central elements/active zone, are presynaptic to ϳ33 central elements. Moreover, all of these arise from one type of bipolar cell, previously described by others, here termed an inner S-cone bipolar cell. Each provides ϳ16 central elements. Thirty-three is twice 16; correspondingly, these bipolar cells are twice as numerous as S cones. (Specifically, each S cone is presynaptic to four inner S-cone bipolar cells; in turn, each bipolar cell provides central elements to two S cones.) These bipolar cells are presynaptic to an equal number of small-field bistratified ganglion cells, giving cell numbers in 2G:2B:1S ratios. Each ganglion cell receives input from two or more inner S-cone bipolar cells and thereby collects signals from three or more S cones. This convergence, along with chromatic aberration of short-wavelength light, suggests that S-cone contributions to this ganglion cell's coextensive blue-ON/yellow-OFF receptive field are larger than opponent L/M-cone contributions via outer diffuse bipolar cells and that opponent L/M-cone signals are conveyed mainly by inner S-cone bipolar cells.

Functional role of spines in the retinal horizontal cell network

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1989

Compartmental models derived from serial electron-microscopic reconstructions of horizontal cell processes entering cone pedicles and rod spherules are used to show that these processes have the morphological and electrical characteristics of dendritic spines. Properties of these spines are incorporated into a distributed model of the horizontal cell network. Expressions relating the magnitude of conductance changes applied at the spine heads to hyperpolarization of cells within the network are derived. Model analyses show that spine properties play a critical role in determining network responses. Specifically, increasing spine stem resistance increases the network input resistance and space constant, hyperpolarizes the resting potential, decreases response to full-field light stimuli, and increases response to small light spots. Increasing spine-stem resistance also decouples potential at the spine head from potential at the cell body. This result suggests that the location of feedback neurotransmitter release sites (e.g.

Identification of pedicles of putative blue-sensitive cones in the human retina

The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 1990

Cone photoreceptor pedicles from midperipheral regions of the human retina (6 mm from the foveal center) have been studied by light and electron microscopy. Three areas of cone pedicle mosaic were serially thin-sectioned, in the tangential plane, from the inner border of the outer plexiform layer to the emergence of the cone axons from the cone pedicles. Semithin sect,ions were then collected from the cone axon level through the cone cell bodies to the cone inner segment level. Two hundred twenty-one cone pedicles were followed by this means to their respective inner segments. Eight percent of the cone pedicles were from cones with inner segment characteristics of the blue cones. All 221 cone pedicles were reconstructed by tracing images from elect,ron micrographs. The cone pedicle locations, surface areas, telodendrial projections, and synaptic ribbons could then be measured by morphometry and analyzed by statistical methods. Some selected cone pedicles were reconstructed by computer graphics methods.