Publication Date:
2010-12-07
Description:
Establishing precise synaptic connections is crucial to the development of functional neural circuits. The direction-selective circuit in the retina relies upon highly selective wiring of inhibitory inputs from starburst amacrine cells (SACs) onto four subtypes of ON-OFF direction-selective ganglion cells (DSGCs), each preferring motion in one of four cardinal directions. It has been reported in rabbit that the SACs on the 'null' sides of DSGCs form functional GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)-mediated synapses, whereas those on the preferred sides do not. However, it is not known how the asymmetric wiring between SACs and DSGCs is established during development. Here we report that in transgenic mice with cell-type-specific labelling, the synaptic connections from SACs to DSGCs were of equal strength during the first postnatal week, regardless of whether the SAC was located on the preferred or null side of the DSGC. However, by the end of the second postnatal week, the strength of the synapses made from SACs on the null side of a DSGC significantly increased whereas those made from SACs located on the preferred side remained constant. Blocking retinal activity by intraocular injections of muscimol or gabazine during this period did not alter the development of direction selectivity. Hence, the asymmetric inhibition between the SACs and DSGCs is achieved by a developmental program that specifically strengthens the GABA-mediated inputs from SACs located on the null side, in a manner not dependent on neural activity.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3974627/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉 〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3974627/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wei, Wei -- Hamby, Aaron M -- Zhou, Kaili -- Feller, Marla B -- EY019498/EY/NEI NIH HHS/ -- R01 EY013528/EY/NEI NIH HHS/ -- R01 EY019498/EY/NEI NIH HHS/ -- R01EY013528/EY/NEI NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2011 Jan 20;469(7330):402-6. doi: 10.1038/nature09600. Epub 2010 Dec 5.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3200, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21131947" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Action Potentials/drug effects/physiology
;
Amacrine Cells/drug effects/physiology
;
Animals
;
Dendrites/physiology
;
Electric Conductivity
;
Mice
;
Mice, Transgenic
;
*Models, Neurological
;
Motion
;
Motion Perception/drug effects/physiology
;
Muscimol/pharmacology
;
Neural Inhibition/drug effects/*physiology
;
Neuronal Plasticity/physiology
;
Patch-Clamp Techniques
;
Photic Stimulation
;
Pyridazines/pharmacology
;
Retina/cytology/drug effects/growth & development/*physiology
;
Retinal Ganglion Cells/drug effects/physiology
;
Synapses/drug effects/metabolism
;
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism
Print ISSN:
0028-0836
Electronic ISSN:
1476-4687
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
