PUBLICATION

Neural Mechanisms Generating Orientation Selectivity in the Retina

Authors
Antinucci, P., Suleyman, O., Monfries, C., Hindges, R.
ID
ZDB-PUB-160706-11
Date
2016
Source
Current biology : CB   26(14): 1802-15 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Hindges, Robert
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism
  • Orientation*
  • Retinal Ganglion Cells/physiology*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism
PubMed
27374343 Full text @ Curr. Biol.
Abstract
The orientation of visual stimuli is a salient feature of visual scenes. In vertebrates, the first neural processing steps generating orientation selectivity take place in the retina. Here, we dissect an orientation-selective circuit in the larval zebrafish retina and describe its underlying synaptic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms. We genetically identify a class of amacrine cells (ACs) with elongated dendritic arbors that show orientation tuning. Both selective optogenetic ablation of ACs marked by the cell-adhesion molecule Teneurin-3 (Tenm3) and pharmacological interference with their function demonstrate that these cells are critical components for orientation selectivity in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) by being a source of tuned GABAergic inhibition. Moreover, our morphological analyses reveal that Tenm3(+) ACs and orientation-selective RGCs co-stratify their dendrites in the inner plexiform layer, and that Tenm3(+) ACs require Tenm3 to acquire their correct dendritic stratification. Finally, we show that orientation tuning is present also among bipolar cell presynaptic terminals. Our results define a neural circuit underlying orientation selectivity in the vertebrate retina and characterize cellular and molecular requirements for its assembly.
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