Document Detail


Symmetry breakdown in the ON and OFF pathways of the retina at night: functional implications.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20668185     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Several recent studies have shown that the ON and OFF channels of the visual system are not simple mirror images of each other, that their response characteristics are asymmetric (Chichilnisky and Kalmar, 2002; Sagdullaev and McCall, 2005). How the asymmetries bear on visual processing is not well understood. Here, we show that ON and OFF ganglion cells show a strong asymmetry in their temporal adaptation to photopic (day) and scotopic (night) conditions and that the asymmetry confers a functional advantage. Under photopic conditions, the ON and OFF ganglion cells show similar temporal characteristics. Under scotopic conditions, the two cell classes diverge-ON cells shift their tuning to low temporal frequencies, whereas OFF cells continue to respond to high. This difference in processing corresponds to an asymmetry in the natural world, one produced by the Poisson nature of photon capture and persists over a broad range of light levels. This work characterizes a previously unknown divergence in the ON and OFF pathways and its utility to visual processing. Furthermore, the results have implications for downstream circuitry and thus offer new constraints for models of downstream processing, since ganglion cells serve as building blocks for circuits in higher brain areas. For example, if simple cells in visual cortex rely on complementary interactions between the two pathways, such as push-pull interactions (Alonso et al., 2001; Hirsch, 2003), their receptive fields may be radically different under scotopic conditions, when the ON and OFF pathways are out of sync.
Authors:
Chethan Pandarinath; Jonathan D Victor; Sheila Nirenberg
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience     Volume:  30     ISSN:  1529-2401     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Neurosci.     Publication Date:  2010 Jul 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-07-29     Completed Date:  2010-08-20     Revised Date:  2011-09-26    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8102140     Medline TA:  J Neurosci     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  10006-14     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Action Potentials / physiology
Animals
Dark Adaptation / physiology*
Fourier Analysis
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Models, Neurological
Photic Stimulation / methods
Poisson Distribution
Retina / cytology*,  physiology
Retinal Ganglion Cells / classification,  physiology*
Visual Pathways / physiology
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
EY012978/EY/NEI NIH HHS; EY07977/EY/NEI NIH HHS; EY09314/EY/NEI NIH HHS; R01 EY007977-20/EY/NEI NIH HHS; R01 EY009314-16/EY/NEI NIH HHS; R01 EY009314-18/EY/NEI NIH HHS; R01 EY012978-09/EY/NEI NIH HHS
Comments/Corrections

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