20-Hz flicker stimulus can isolate the cone function in rat retina.
Cone electroretinograms (ERGs) are typically isolated in humans by flicker stimuli against rod-desensitizing adapting fields. To investigate the manner in which adapting-field luminance affects the cone ERGs, we recorded ERGs in normal albino Sprague-Dawley rats with flicker stimuli presented against adapting fields that ranged in luminance from to 1.75 log cd/m2. A flicker rate of 20 Hz was used to isolate the cone ERGs under all adaptation conditions. We found the amplitudes of cone ERGs to increase with increasing adapting-field luminance. These response characteristics are similar to human ERGs using 30-Hz flicker stimuli, which suggests that flicker stimuli are a useful technique to isolate the cone function in rats.
Goto
Y
Y
Departments of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurological Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Yasuda
T
T
Tobimatsu
S
S
Kato
M
M
D000221:Adaptation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003623:Dark Adaptation / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004596:Electroretinography; D008027:Light; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*