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Light-dependent delay in the falling phase of the retinal rod photoresponse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

David R. Pepperberg ,
M. Carter Cornwall ,
Martina Kahlert ,
Klaus Peter Hofmann ,
Jing Jin ,
Gregor J. Jones  and
Harris Ripps
David R. Pepperberg
Affiliation:
Lions of Illinois Eye Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
M. Carter Cornwall
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston
Martina Kahlert
Affiliation:
Institut für Biophysik und Strahlenbiologie, Albert-Ludwigs Universität, D-7800 Freiburg, Federal Republic of Germany
Klaus Peter Hofmann
Affiliation:
Institut für Biophysik und Strahlenbiologie, Albert-Ludwigs Universität, D-7800 Freiburg, Federal Republic of Germany
Jing Jin
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston
Gregor J. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston
Harris Ripps
Affiliation:
Lions of Illinois Eye Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago Department of Anatomy–Cell Biology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
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Abstract

Using suction electrodes, photocurrent responses to 100-ms saturating flashes were recorded from isolated retinal rods of the larval-stage tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). The delay period (Te) that preceded recovery of the dark current by a criterion amount (3 pA) was analyzed in relation to the flash intensity (If), and to the corresponding fractional bleach (R*0/Rtot) of the visual pigment; R*0/Rtot was compared with R*s/Rtot the fractional bleach at which the peak level of activated transducin approaches saturation. Over an approximately 8 In unit range of If that included the predicted value of R*s/Rtot, Te increased linearly with In If. Within the linear range, the slope of the function yielded an apparent exponential time constant (TC) of 1.7 ± 0.2 s (mean ± S.D.). Background light reduced the value of Tc measured at a given flash intensity but preserved a range over which Tc increased linearly with In If; the linear-range slope was similar to that measured in the absence of background light. The intensity dependence of Tc resembles that of a delay (Td) seen in light-scattering experiments on bovine retinas, which describes the period of essentially complete activation of transducin following a bright flash; the slope of the function relating Td and In flash intensity is thought to reflect the lifetime of photoactivated visual pigment (R*) (Pepperberg et al., 1988; Kahlert et al., 1990). The present data suggest that the electrophysiological delay has a similar basis in the deactivation kinetics of R*, and that Tc represents TR* the lifetime of R* in the phototransduction process. The results furthermore suggest a preservation of the “dark-adapted” value of TR* within the investigated range of background intensity.

Keywords

Visual pigmentRod photocurrentR* deactivationTransducinPhotoreceptor
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 9 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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