Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-20T04:08:34.558Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of synaptic drugs on turtle optokinetic nystagmus and the spike responses of the basal optic nucleus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

M. Ariel  and
A.F. Rosenberg
M. Ariel
Affiliation:
Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatry; University of Pittsburgh and its Center for Neuroscience
A.F. Rosenberg
Affiliation:
Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatry; University of Pittsburgh and its Center for Neuroscience
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Behavioral and electrophysiological measures were used to elucidate the retinal modulation of oculomotor control in the turtle. Eye movements were recorded following intravitreal applications of 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB) and the GABA antagonists picrotoxin and bicuculline. Visual responses of single basal optic nucleus (BON) neurons of the accessory optic system were studied in parallel experiments. The effectiveness of APB, a glutamate analog thought to act selectively on the retinal ON pathway, was assessed independently by recording electroretinograms or ganglion cell activity.

Injections of APB into the turtle's eye reduced or blocked the injected eye's ability to drive horizontal optokinetic nystagmus, as also observed in rabbit and cat (Knapp et al., 1988; Yucel et al., 1989). Single-unit recordings from the BON during APB superfusion (50–200 μM APB) of the contralateral retina demonstrated that these cells, which are direction-sensitive and respond to the offset of light flashes, have their responses to moving stimuli blocked by APB.

During the APB effect, GABA antagonists were applied to the same eye. Although moderate doses of APB were sufficient to block optokinetic or BON light responses, the addition of GABA blockers still elicited a spontaneous temporal-to-nasal nystagmus (Ariel, 1989) or visually responsive yet direction-insensitive responses from BON cells (Schuerger et al., 1990). These results are discussed in terms of the retinal output to pathways involved in oculomotor control of optokinetic nystagmus.

Keywords

RetinaAccessory optic systemOptokinetic nystagmusAPBGABA antagonistsTurtle
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 7 , Issue 5 , November 1991 , pp. 431 - 440
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ariel, M. (1989). Analysis of vertebrate eye movements following intravitreal drug injections, III: Spontaneous nystagmus is modulated by the GABAa receptor. Journal of Neurophysiology 62, 469–480.Google Scholar
Ariel, M. (1990). Independent eye movements of a turtle. Visual Neuroscience 5, 29–41.Google Scholar
Ariel, M. (1991). Analysis of vertebrate eye movements following intravitreal drug injections, IV: Drug-induced eye movements are unyoked in the turtle. Journal of Neurophysiology 65, 1003–1009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ariel, M. & Adolph, A.R. (1985). Synaptic pharmacology of directionally sensitive ganglion cells in turtle retina. Journal of Neurophysiology 54, 123–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ariel, M., Robinson, F.R. & Knapp, A.G. (1988). Analysis of vertebrate eye movements following intravitreal drug injections, II: Spontaneous nystagmus induced by picrotoxin is mediated subcortically. Journal of Neurophysiology 60, 1022–1035.Google Scholar
Arkin, M.S. & Miller, R.F. (1987). Subtle actions of 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB) on the OFF pathway in the mudpuppy retina. Brain Research 426, 142–148.Google Scholar
Bonaventure, N., Wioland, N. & Bigenwald, J. (1983). Involvement of GABAergic mechanisms in the optokinetic nystagmus of the frog. Experimental Brain Research 50, 433–441.Google ScholarPubMed
Bonaventure, N., Wioland, N. & Roussel, G. (1980). Effects of some amino acids and their antagonists on spatial and temporal features of frog retinal ganglion-cell responses. European Journal of Physiology 385, 51–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, D.B. (1980). Light responses of ganglion cells in the retina of the turtle. Journal of Physiology (London) 299, 173–196.Google Scholar
Brandon, C. (1985). Retinal GABA neurons: localization in vertebrate species using an antiserum to rabbit brain glutamate decarboxylase. Brain Research 344, 286–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clement, G. & Magnin, M. (1984). Effects of accessory optic system lesions on vestibulo-ocular and optokinetic reflexes in the cat. Experimental Brain Research 55, 49–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demarco, P., Nussdorpf, D., Brockman, D. & Powers, M. (1987). The ON channel is necessary for optokinetic nystagmus at high spatiotemporal frequencies in goldfish. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 13, 1053.Google Scholar
Fite, K.V., Reiner, A. & Hunt, S.P. (1979). Optokinetic nystagmus and the accessory optic system of pigeon and turtle. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 16, 192–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Granda, A.M. & Fulbrook, J.E. (1989). Classification of turtle retinal ganglion cells. Journal of Neurophysiology 62, 723–737.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grasse, K.L., Ariel, M. & Smith, I. (1990). Direction-selective responses of units in the dorsal terminal nucleus following intravitreal injections of bicuculline. Visual Neuroscience 4, 605–617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffmann, K.P. (1986). Visual inputs relevant for optokinetic nystagmus in mammals. Progress in Brain Research 64, 75–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffmann, K.P. & Stone, J. (1985). Retinal input to the nucleus of the optic tract of the cat assessed by antidromic activation of ganglion cells. Experimental Brain Research 59, 395–403.Google Scholar
Horton, J.C. & Sherk, H. (1984). Receptive-field properties in the cat's lateral geniculate nucleus in the absence of ON-center retinal input. Journal of Neuroscience 4, 374–380.Google Scholar
Jardon, B., Yucel, H. & Bonaventure, N. (1989). Glutamatergic separation of ON and OFF retinal channels: possible modulation by glycine and acetylcholine. European Journal of Pharmacology 162, 215–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapp, A.G., Ariel, M. & Robinson, F.R. (1988). Analysis of vertebrate eye movements following intravitreal drug injections, I: Blockade of retinal ON cells by 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate eliminates optokinetic nystagmus. Journal of Neurophysiology 60, 1010–1021.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knapp, A.G. & Mistler, L.A. (1983). Response properties of cells in rabbit's lateral geniculate nucleus during reversible blockade of retinal ON-center channel. Journal of Neurophysiology 50, 1236–1245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knapp, A.G. & Schiller, P.H. (1984). The contribution of ON-bipolar cells to the electroretinogram of rabbits and monkeys: a study using 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB). Vision Research 24, 1841–1846.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merigan, W.H. (1984). APB effects on primate ERG. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 25, 259.Google Scholar
Mosinger, J.L., Yazulla, S. & Studholme, K.M. (1986). GABA-like immunoreactivity in the vertebrate retina: a species comparison. Experimental Eye Research 42, 631–644.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oyster, C.W., Simpson, J.I., Takahashi, E.S. & Soodak, R.E. (1980). Retinal ganglion cells projecting to the rabit accessory optic system. Journal of Comparative Neurology 190, 49–61.Google Scholar
Powers, M., Demarco, P. & Bilotta, J. (1988). APB eliminates b wave but not optic nerve “ON” response in goldfish. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, (Suppl.) 29, 104.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, A.F. & Ariel, M. (1990). Visual-response properties of the turtle's basal optic nucleus in vitro. Journal of Neurophysiology 63, 1033–1045.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, A.F. & Ariel, M. (1991). Electrophysiological evidence for a direct projection of direction-sensitive retinal ganglion cells to the turtle's accessory optic system. Journal of Neurophysiology 65, 1022–1033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schiller, P.H., Sandell, J.H. & Maunsell, J.H.R. (1986). Functions of the ON and OFF channels of the visual system. Nature 322, 824–825.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schuerger, R.J., Rosenberg, A.F. & Ariel, M. (1990). Retinal direction-sensitive input to the accessory optic system: an in vitro approach with behavioral relevance. Brain Research 522, 161–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, J.I. (1984). The accessory optic system. Annual Review of Neuroscience 7, 13–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slaughter, M.N. & Miller, R.F. (1981). 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate: a new pharmacological tool for retina research. Science 211, 182–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soodak, R.E. & Simpson, J.I. (1988). The accessory optic system of rabbit, I: Basic visual-response properties. Journal of Neurophysiology 60, 2037–2054.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stockton, R.A. & Slaughter, M.M. (1987). ON-bipolar potassium fluxes are uniquely associated with the ERG b wave. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 28, 406.Google Scholar
Yucel, Y.H., Jardon, B. & Bonaventure, N. (1989b). Involvement of ON and OFF retinal channels in the eye and head horizontal optokinetic nystagmus of the frog. Visual Neuroscience 2, 357–366.Google Scholar