title: The mechanisms of vertebrate light adaptation: speeded recovery versus slowed activation.
abstract: Light adaptation in vertebrate photoreceptors is commonly attributed to a feedback mechanism that reduces the amplitude of the receptor potential by speeding the inactivation of the transduction cascade and hastening the recovery process. Recent studies have challenged this model and suggest instead that desensitization originates mainly from changes in the activation phase rather than the recovery phase of the response. This has important implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the control of sensitivity in this G-protein-coupled, signal-transduction pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, 98195, USA. detwiler@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Detwiler
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gray-Keller
mesh_terms: D000221:Adaptation, Ocular; D000818:Animals; D005246:Feedback; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013997:Time Factors; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins