title: Visual efference neuromodulates retinal timing: in vivo roles of octopamine, substance P, circadian phase, and efferent activation in Limulus.
abstract: Efferent nerves coursing from the brain to the lateral eye of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, increase its nighttime sensitivity to light. They release octopamine, which produces a categorical increase of photoreceptor response duration in vitro. Analogous in vivo timing effects on the electroretinogram (ERG) were demonstrated when octopamine was infiltrated into the eye of an otherwise intact animal; nighttime ERGs were longer than daytime ERGs. Related effects on the ERG were produced by daytime electrical stimulation of efferent fibers. Surprisingly, in a departure from effects predicted solely from in vitro octopamine data, nighttime ERG onsets were also accelerated relative to daytime ERG onsets. Drawing on earlier reports, these remarkable accelerations led to an examination of substance P as another candidate neuromodulator. It demonstrated that infiltrations of either modulator into the lateral eyes of otherwise intact crabs increased the amplitude of ERG responses but that each candidate modulator induced daytime responses that specifically mimicked one of the two particular aspects of the timing differences between day- and nighttime ERGs: octopamine increased the duration of daytime ERGs and substance P infiltrated during the day accelerated response onset. These results indicate that, in addition to octopamine's known role as an efferent neuromodulator that increases nighttime ERG amplitudes, octopamine clearly also affects the timing of photoreceptor responses. But these infiltration data go further and strongly suggest that substance P may also be released into the lateral eye at night, thereby accelerating the ERG's onset in addition to increasing its amplitude.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bolbecker
authors.forename: Corrinne C M
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lim-Kessler
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Swan
authors.forename: Adrienne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fleets
authors.forename: Gerald S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Wasserman
mesh_terms: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004596:Electroretinography; D006737:Horseshoe Crabs / Q000502:physiology*; D009655:Octopamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D009655:Octopamine; D013373:Substance P