Dopamine-containing amacrine cells of rhesus monkey retina parallel rods in spatial distribution

Dopamine-containing amacrine cells of rhesus monkey were found everywhere outside of the foveola in whole, flat retinas by the formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fluorescent method. There were about 7500 such cells in a single retina and their density, determined by cell counts and measured by a nearest neighbor method, was minimal in foveal and peripheral regions and maximal at 3 mm from the center of the fovea. Compared to density distributions of other retinal neuron types, dopamine-containing amacrine cells correlated only with rods, which also had a peak density at 3 mm eccentricity. Cones and ganglion cells peaked in the foveal pit, or within 1 mm of it, respectively. As the distribution of dopamine-containing cells followed that of rods, it is suggested that dopamine could be involved in the rod neuronal circuitry of primates.

[1]  H. Wässle,et al.  The mosaic of nerve cells in the mammalian retina , 1978, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences.

[2]  J. Häggendal,et al.  IDENTIFICATION AND CELLULAR LOCALIZATION OF THE CATECHOLAMINES IN THE RETINA AND THE CHOROID OF THE RABBIT. , 1965, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[3]  E. C. Pielou An introduction to mathematical ecology , 1970 .

[4]  A. Mariani The neuronal organization of the outer plexiform layer of the primate retina. , 1984, International review of cytology.

[5]  J. Stone,et al.  Morphology of catecholamine-containing amacrine cells in the cat's retina, as seen in retinal whole mounts , 1979, Brain Research.

[6]  I. Holmgren Synaptic organization of the dopaminergic neurons in the retina of the cynomolgus monkey. , 1982, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[7]  Helga Kolb,et al.  A bistratified amacrine cell and synaptic circuitry in the inner plexiform layer of the retina , 1975, Brain Research.

[8]  D. Jacobowitz,et al.  A comparative study of the autonomic innervation of the eye in monkey, cat, and rabbit , 1966, The Anatomical record.

[9]  J. Dowling,et al.  Fluorescence and electron microscopical observations on the amine‐accumulating neurons of the cebus monkey retina , 1980, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[10]  H. Kolb The inner plexiform layer in the retina of the cat: electron microscopic observations , 1979, Journal of neurocytology.

[11]  Satoru Kato,et al.  Dopamine modulates S-potential amplitude and dye-coupling between external horizontal cells in carp retina , 1983, Nature.

[12]  B Ehinger,et al.  Synaptic organization of the amine-containing interplexiform cells of the goldfish and Cebus monkey retinas. , 1975, Science.

[13]  T. Malmfors Evidence of adrenergic neurons with synaptic terminals in the retina of rats demonstrated with fluorescence and electron microscopy. , 1963, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[14]  C. Galli,et al.  Light stimulates tyrosine hydroxylase activity and dopamine synthesis in retinal amacrine neurons. , 1978, Science.

[15]  R. Nelson,et al.  AII amacrine cells quicken time course of rod signals in the cat retina. , 1982, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  A. Mariani,et al.  Biplexiform cells: ganglion cells of the primate retina that contact photoreceptors. , 1982, Science.

[17]  K. Negishi,et al.  Spatial density of catecholaminergic cells in the carp retina. , 1980, Experimental eye research.

[18]  R. Pourcho Dopaminergic amacrine cells in the cat retina , 1982, Brain Research.