Signal clipping by the rod output synapse - Nature
- ️Wilson, Martin
- ️Thu Aug 06 1987
- Letter
- Published: 06 August 1987
Nature volume 328, pages 522–524 (1987)Cite this article
Abstract
The properties of synapses between retinal neurons make an essential contribution to early visual processing. Light produces a graded hyperpolarization in photoreceptors, up to 25 mV in amplitude1, and it is conventionally assumed that all of this response range is available for coding visual information. We report here, however, that the rod output synapse rectifies strongly, so that only potential changes within 5 m V of the rod dark potential are transmitted effectively to postsynaptic horizontal cells. This finding is consistent with the voltage-dependence of the calcium current presumed to control neurotransmitter release from rods2. It suggests functional roles for the strong electrical coupling of adjacent rods3 and the weak electrical coupling of adjacent rods and cones4. The existence of photoreceptor coupling resolves the apparent paradox that rods have a 25 mV response range, while signals greater than 5 mV in amplitude are clipped during synaptic transmission. We predict that the strengths of rod-rod and rod-cone coupling are quantitatively linked to the relationship between the rod response range and the synapse operating range.
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Authors and Affiliations
Department of Physiology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
David Attwell
Department of Zoology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA
Salvador Borges & Martin Wilson
Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, 77030, USA
Samuel M. Wu
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- David Attwell
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- Salvador Borges
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- Samuel M. Wu
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- Martin Wilson
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Attwell, D., Borges, S., Wu, S. et al. Signal clipping by the rod output synapse. Nature 328, 522–524 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/328522a0
Received: 07 April 1987
Accepted: 11 June 1987
Issue Date: 06 August 1987
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/328522a0