NEURAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS OF VISUAL ADAPTATION IN THE RAT

Light adaptation in the rat retina: evidence for two receptor mechanisms

Light adapting the rat retina with transient white flashes too dim to bleach a substantial amount of visual pigment produces a change in electroretinogram spectral sensitivity and an increase in flicker fusion frequency. Increment threshold curves obtained with a long wavelength adapting stimulus and a short wavelength test stimulus show rod saturation.

Rhodopsin kinetics in the human eye

1. Rhodopsin has been measured by Rushton's method of reflexion densitometry in a retinal region 18 degrees temporal to the fovea, using a wavelength of measuring light (555 nm) so far into the long wave part of the spectrum that possible blue absorbing intermediates (e.g. transient orange) do not interfere.2. Rhodopsin was bleached by a strong light for 10 sec and then held steady by a weaker light. During a 10 sec bleach, no regeneration occurs and the rate of bleaching is proportional to the quantum catch. The proportionality constant is about 10(-7) (td sec)(-1).3. From 2, the rate of photolysis at equilibrium produced by the steady light was calculated. Since conditions were at equilibrium, photolysis matched regeneration. It was found that the rate of generation was proportional to the amount of pigment still bleached. The proportionality constant was about 0.0025 sec(-1).4. It was found by several different methods that the constant in 3 is the same in the light or dark and hence regeneration occurs independently of bleaching.5. Therefore, the results from bleaching and regeneration experiments can be combined to give the general equation [Formula: see text], where p is the fraction of rhodopsin, t is time in sec and I is the retinal illuminance.6. This equation describes the results of partial bleaching and regeneration experiments under a variety of different exposure intensities of moderately long (at least 10 min) exposure durations.7. The dark adaptation curve in a peripheral region of the rod monochromat's retina where there are few cones follows a simple exponential course over nearly 7 log(10) units. Rhodopsin regeneration and log threshold for this region are described by the same curve with a time constant of about 400 sec. Each log unit fal in threshold is accompanied by 0.835% increase in rhodopsin. This time constant is in agreement with Rushton's (1961) finding, but appreciably longer than that reported by Ripps & Weale (1969a).8. The Ripps & Weale result was, however, obtained by bleaching with a very short bright xenon flash (as they did). Under these conditions, blue absorbing intermediate(s) is (are) formed, the time constant of regeneration of rhodopsin is much faster than after long tungsten bleaches, and the kinetic equation is not valid.9. The general equation, together with the relation found in 7, successfully accounts for results previously published by others of the effect of duration and intensity of bleaching on the recovery of rod threshold in the dark, provided only that more than 5% of the rhodopsin was bleached at the beginning of dark adaptation.

S-potentials in the skate retina. Intracellular recordings during light and dark adaptation

The S-potentials recorded intracellularly from the all-rod retina of the skate probably arise from the large horizontal cells situated directly below the layer of receptors. These cells hyperpolarize in response to light, irrespective of stimulus wavelength, and the responses in photopic as well as scotopic conditions were found to be subserved by a single photopigment with lambda(max) = 500 nm. The process of adaptation was studied by recording simultaneously the threshold responses and membrane potentials of S-units during both light and dark adaptation. The findings indicate that the sensitivity of S-units, whether measured upon steady background fields or in the course of dark adaptation, exhibits changes similar to those demonstrated previously for the ERG b-wave and ganglion cell discharge. However, the membrane potential level of the S-unit and its sensitivity to photic stimulation varied independently for all the adapting conditions tested. It appears, therefore, that visual adaptation in the skate retina occurs before the S-unit is reached, i.e., at the receptors themselves.

Visual adaptation in the retina of the skate

The electroretinogram (ERG) and single-unit ganglion cell activity were recorded from the eyecup of the skate (Raja erinacea and R. oscellata), and the adaptation properties of both types of response compared with in situ rhodopsin measurements obtained by fundus reflectometry. Under all conditions tested, the b-wave of the ERG and the ganglion cell discharge showed identical adaptation properties. For example, after flash adaptation that bleached 80% of the rhodopsin, neither ganglion cell nor b-wave activity could be elicited for 10-15 min. Following this unresponsive period, thresholds fell rapidly; by 20 min after the flash, sensitivity was within 3 log units of the dark-adapted level. Further recovery of threshold was slow, requiring an additional 70-90 min to reach absolute threshold. Measurements of rhodopsin levels showed a close correlation with the slow recovery of threshold that occurred between 20 and 120 min of dark adaptation; there is a linear relation between rhodopsin concentration and log threshold. Other experiments dealt with the initial unresponsive period induced by light adaptation. The duration of this unresponsive period depended on the brightness of the adapting field; with bright backgrounds, suppression of retinal activity lasted 20-25 min, but sensitivity subsequently returned and thresholds fell to a steady-state value. At all background levels tested, increment thresholds were linearly related to background luminance.

Visual adaptation of the rhodopsin rods in the frogs retina

1. The threshold of the discharge from single ganglion cells in the excised and opened frog's eye has been measured with on/off stimuli and test parameters that make it possible to activate the rhodopsin rods only. The test stimuli have been restricted to the central part of the receptive field, where no nervous reorganization can be observed with changes in the state of adaptation.2. When such thresholds and the intensities of the background lights are expressed in terms of the number of quanta absorbed per unit time, it is found that three factors can be correlated with the thresholds measured in various states of light- and dark-adaptation: (i) the intensity of a steady background, (ii) the rate of regeneration of rhodopsin, and (iii) the amount of metarhodopsin II present in the rods.3. The threshold is found to be proportional both to the intensity of a background and to the rate of regeneration, whereas there is a linear relationship between the logarithm of the threshold and the amount of metarhodopsin II.4. The presence of metarhodopsin elevates all thresholds, the absolute threshold, increment thresholds and the thresholds elevated by regenerating rhodopsin in the same way.5. The saturation of the rods at high background intensities is found to be correlated with the accumulation of significant amounts of metarhodopsin in the rods, caused by the bleaching effect of the background.6. The effect of metarhodopsin on the threshold is independent of the amount of rhodopsin present in the rods.7. The combined effect of all three factors can be expressed in a general formula, given as eqn. (7) on p. 74.8. A background not only reduces the signals from the rods illuminated, but also those from neighbouring unilluminated rods. This effect is rapidly decreased with increasing distance from rods covered by the background. This kind of lateral spread in the retina probably occurs also when the rate of regeneration affects the threshold. The effect of metarhodopsin, on the other hand, appears restricted to those receptors that contain this substance.

Rhodopsin photoproducts: effects on electroretinogram sensitivity in isolated perfused rat retina

Isolated perfused retinas of albino rats were exposed to brief saturating flashes of white light which bleached about 50 percent of the rhodopsin present. Transient photoproducts of the reaction could be detected for about 30 minutes. The b-wave threshold increased by some 3 logarithmic units immediately after the flash and remained stable at this level thereafter. This suggests that the longer-lived intermediate products of rhodopsin photolysis do not influence scotopic visual sensitivity.

New evidence supporting the linkage to extracellular space of outer segment saccules of frog cones but not rods

Previous electron microscopic examinations of outer segments of photoreceptors suggest that many flattened saccules of cones are continuous with the cell membrane and that their lumina connect with the extracellular compartment but that most saccules in rods appear to lack these connections. The saccules probably contain photolabile pigment, and certain potentials appear to result from dipole formation during pigment bleaching. The detection of dipoles from rod saccules may require that the lumina of rod saccules connect with extracellular space, and questions have been raised whether the interpretation of micrographs is correct or the isolation of rod saccules is the result of artifact. Accordingly, lanthanum and barium precipitates were produced near fixed and unfixed frog photoreceptors. Lanthanum precipitates appeared to infiltrate the saccules of fixed cones and the few surviving cones exposed prior to fixation, but no rod saccules were infiltrated except occasional, most basal saccules or saccules within narrow zones of probable damage. Barium precipitates did not infiltrate saccules of either variety of unfixed photoreceptor, but they did occasionally infiltrate around the saccules at points of damage in rod outer segments. The results thus support the view of the patency of saccules of frog cones and are consistent with, but do not prove, the isolation of saccules of frog rods.

Nonlinear transient responses from light-adapted wolf spider eyes to changes in background illumination

Retinal action potentials were recorded at the corneas of light-adapted wolf spider eyes in response to large positive and negative step changes in background illumination. These incremental responses were superimposed upon the steady-state DC responses to the background illumination. Both positive and negative step responses had peaks which overshot the DC levels to which they decayed. The overshoot was greater for positive than for negative steps. Short term DC responses measured after one-half sec were larger for negative than for positive steps; these short-term DC responses were thus asymmetrical. However, responses to short positive and negative flashes were not asymmetrical; rather, they varied linearly with flash amplitude. Asymmetries were thus delayed in onset. The short-term DC responses were found to be different from the steady-state DC responses to maintained changes in background illumination. There was an approximately exponential decay or creep from the short-term to the steady-state DC responses. It is proposed that the dynamics of delayed asymmetries can explain the waveforms of the short-term transient responses.

A nonlinear model for transient responses from light-adapted wolf spider eyes

A quantitative model is proposed to test the hypothesis that the dynamics of nonlinearities in retinal action potentials from light-adapted wolf spider eyes may be due to delayed asymmetries in responses of the visual cells. For purposes of calculation, these delayed asymmetries are generated in an analogue by a time-variant resistance. It is first shown that for small incremental stimuli, the linear behavior of such a resistance describes peaking and low frequency phase lead in frequency responses of the eye to sinusoidal modulations of background illumination. It also describes the overshoots in linear step responses. It is next shown that the analogue accounts for nonlinear transient and short term DC responses to large positive and negative step stimuli and for the variations in these responses with changes in degree of light adaptation. Finally, a physiological model is proposed in which the delayed asymmetries in response are attributed to delayed rectification by the visual cell membrane. In this model, cascaded chemical reactions may serve to transduce visual stimuli into membrane resistance changes.

Progress in physiological optics

A survey is made of the current state of physiological optics, broadly defined as equated with visual science. After a survey of some historical and definitional matters, recent progress in a number of areas is critically reviewed. Finally, seven examples of important recent discoveries in physiological optics are given.

The site of visual adaptation

In response to background illumination, the adaptation properties of the b-wave are similar to those observed in the human eye with psychophysical methods. With increasing background luminance the b-wave sensitivity is diminished; except at the lowest background intensity the elevation of the log threshold is linearly related to the increase of background intensity, the relation having a slope of almost 1. The a-wave, however, behaves quite differently. At low background luminances it shows little adaptation. With higher background luminances the awave saturates, and no a-wave potential can be elicited with any stimulus intensity. The L-type S-potentials respond to background light in much the same way as the a-wave does. Thus, the b-wave is the first of the known responses in the visual system to show typical adaptation properties. This suggests that the site of visual adaptation may be in the bi-polarcell layer, the presumed locus of b-wave generation. Recent electron microscopic studies have demonstrated reciprocal synapses between the bipolar terminals and amacrine processes, and it is suggested that such a synaptic arrangement could account for visual adaptation by a mechanism of inhibitory feedback on the bipolar cells.

Neural Stage of Adaptation between the Receptors and Inner Nuclear Layer of Monkey Retina

The local electroretinogram of the monkey retina is recorded by intraretinal microelectrodes. Observations of the late receptor potential, isolated by selective clamping of the retinal circulation, show that when the retina is light-adapted by repetitive stimulation, the amplitude of the receptor potential is only slightly reduced over a slow time course. The reduction in amplitude of the b-wave is much greater and occurs much more rapidly. Thus there is a neural stage of adaptation between the late receptor potential and the generation of the b-wave by cells of the inner nuclear layer.