Some problems involved in employing the ERG c-wave in pharmacological experiments: conditioning in pigmented rabbits.
The large inter- and intra-individual variations in ERG c-waves have prevented the application of the component in pharmacological experiments on the retinal pigment epithelial function. We examined some of the problems involved in employing the c-wave in pharmacological experiments using rabbit retinas. 1) Under our experimental conditions, the c-wave amplitudes in some rabbits reached equilibrium under intermittent stimuli, while in others they increased with time and did not reach a constant level in 3 h. 2) The c-wave amplitudes of the right and left eyes were similar, indicating that the contralateral eye can be used as a control during local administration of drugs. 3) The c-wave amplitude under 50 lux light had smaller inter-individual variations than that in the dark. This may be a useful indicator of the retinal pigment epithelium function when drugs are administered systemically.
D000221:Adaptation, Ocular / Q000187:drug effects*; D000771:Anesthesia, Intravenous; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D003623:Dark Adaptation / Q000187:drug effects; D004596:Electroretinography / Q000295:instrumentation; D008027:Light; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000187:drug effects*; D011817:Rabbits; D014520:Urethane / Q000494:pharmacology
D000777:Anesthetics; D014520:Urethane; D010424:Pentobarbital