Summary
We recorded from ganglion cell axons in the optic tracts of self-respiring goldfish, and examined the interaction of rod-effective and cone-effective stimuli within their receptive fields. The summation of influences due to the rod system and the long wavelength sensitive cone system was analyzed by the methods of response-summation and sensitivity-summation. Different spatial relationships between the rod- and cone-effective stimuli allowed examination of distance-dependent effects.
Both the response-summation and sensitivity-summation analyses showed a difference in non-linearity between a configuration in which the rod-and cone-effective stimuli were spatially overlapped and a configuration in which they were not. This difference in both analyses demonstrates a distance dependent interaction between the rod and cone systems. Both analyses also showed a difference in non-linearity between a configuration in which the rod- and cone-effective stimuli were nearby (but not overlapped) and one in which they were more distant. This demonstrates that the interaction is not limited to receptors that are immediate neighbors. An estimate of the strength of interaction in each case showed that the differences among the three configurations were relatively slight, indicating a broad spread of the effect. The interaction was found to be relatively powerful; assuming a specific simple model for the interaction mechanism, we found that each system exerts an effect upon the other which accounts for about 1/3 of its signal.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrews D, Hammond P (1970) Suprathreshold spectral properties of single optic fibers in the cat, under mesopic adaptation. Cone-rod interaction. J Physiol (Lond) 209: 82–103
Beauchamp RD, Daw NW (1972) Rod and cone input to single optic nerve fibers. Vision Res 12: 1201–1212
Chandler JP (1965) STEPIT. Quantum Chemistry Exchange Program, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Easter SS, Johns PR, Baumann LR (1977) Growth of the adult goldfish eye. I. Optics. Vision Res 17: 469–477
Ebrey TG, Honig B (1977) New wavelength-dependent visual pigment nomograms. Vision Res 17: 147–151
Enroth-Cugell C, Hertz BG, Lennie P (1977) Cone signals in the cat's retina. J Physiol (Lond) 269: 273–296
Gouras P, Link K (1966) Rod and cone interaction in dark adapted monkey ganglion cells. J Physiol (Lond) 184: 499–510
Hárosi FI (1976) Spectral relations of cone pigments in goldfish. J Gen Physiol 68: 65–80
Hárosi FI, MacNichol EF, Jr (1974) Visual pigments of goldfish cones/spectral properties and dichroism. J Gen Physiol 63: 279–304
Hood DC (1978) Psychophysical and physiological tests of proposed physiological mechanisms of light adaptation. In: Armington JC, Krauskopf J, Wooten BR (eds) Visual psychophysics and physiology. Academic Press, New York, pp 141–155
Kaneko A (1971) Electrical connexions between horizontal cells in the dogfish retina. J Physiol (Lond) 213: 95–105
Kolb H, Famiglietti EV (1974) Rod and cone pathways in the inner plexiform layer of cat retina. Science 186: 47–49
Levine MW, Abramov I (1975) An analysis of spatial summation in the receptive fields of goldfish retinal ganglion cells. Vision Res 15: 777–789
Levine MW, Shefner JM (1979) X-like and not X-like cells in goldfish retina. Vision Res 19: 95–97
Loew ER, Lythgoe JN (1978) The ecology of cone pigments in teleost fishes. Vision Res 18: 715–722
Naka K-I, Rushton WAH (1966) S-potentials from colour units in the retina of fish (Cyprinidae). J Physiol (Lond) 185: 536–555
Normann RA, Werblin FS (1974) Control of retinal sensitivity. I. Light and dark adaptation of vertebrate rods and cones. J Gen Physiol 63: 37–61
Powers MK, Easter SS (1978a) Absolute visual sensitivity of the goldfish. Vision Res 18: 1137–1147
Powers MK, Easter SS (1978b) Wavelength discrimination by the goldfish near absolute visual threshold. Vision Res 18: 1149–1154
Raynauld JP (1972) Goldfish retina. Sign of rod input in opponent color ganglion cells. Science 177: 84–85
Saito T, Kondo H, Toyoda J-I (1979) Ionic mechanisms of two types of on-center bipolar cells in the carp retina. I. The responses to central illumination. J Gen Physiol 73: 73–90
Scholes JH (1975) Colour receptors, and their synaptic connexions, in the retina of a cyprinid fish. Philos Trans R Soc Lond [Biol] 270: 61–118
Scholes J, Morris J (1973) Receptor-bipolar connectivity patterns in fish retina. Nature 241: 52–54
Schwanzara SA (1967) The visual pigments of freshwater fishes. Vision Res 7: 121–148
Shapley RM, Victor JD (1978) The effect of contrast on the transfer properties of cat retinal ganglion cells. J Physiol (Lond) 285: 275–298
Shefner JM, Levine MW (1976) A method for obtaining single cell responses in the optic tract of self-respiring fish. Behav Res Methods Instrum 8: 453–455
Shefner JM, Levine MW (1977) Interactions between rod and cone systems in the goldfish retina. Science 198: 750–753
Shefner JM, Levine MW (1979) A comparison of properties of goldfish retinal ganglion cells as a function of lighting conditions during dissection. Vision Res 19: 83–89
Stell WK (1967) The structure and relationships of horizontal cells and photoreceptor-bipolar synaptic complexes in goldfish retina. Am J Anat 121: 401–424
Stell WK (1975) Horizontal cell axons and axon terminals in goldfish retina. J Comp Neurol 159: 503–520
Tuttle JR (1981) Differential distribution of different classes of Necturus retinal ganglion cells. Brain Res 210: 373–378
Werblin FS (1971) Adaption in the vertebrate retina. Intracellular recording in Necturus. J Neurophysiol 34: 228–241
Whitten D, Brown KT (1973) Photopic suppression of monkey's rod receptor potential apparently by a cone-initiated lateral suppression. Vision Res 13: 1629–1658
Wolbarsht ML, Wagner HG (1963) Glass-insulated platinum micro-electrodes. Design and fabrication. In: Bostem H (ed) Medical electronics. University of Liege Press, Liege, pp 510–515
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by grant no. 5 R01 EY 01951 from the National Eye Institute of NIH
Supported by Research Fellowship no. 5 F32 NS05438 from NINCDS of NIH
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levine, M.W., Shefner, J.M. Distance-dependent interactions between the rod and the cone systems in goldfish retina. Exp Brain Res 44, 353–361 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238828
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238828