title: Sensory experience shapes the development of the visual system's first synapse.
abstract: Specific connectivity patterns among neurons create the basic architecture underlying parallel processing in our nervous system. Here we focus on the visual system's first synapse to examine the structural and functional consequences of sensory deprivation on the establishment of parallel circuits. Dark rearing reduces synaptic strength between cones and cone bipolar cells, a previously unappreciated effect of sensory deprivation. In contrast, rod bipolar cells, which utilize the same glutamate receptor to contact rods, are unaffected by dark rearing. Underlying the physiological changes, we find the localization of metabotropic glutamate receptors within cone bipolar, but not rod bipolar, cell dendrites is a light-dependent process. Furthermore, although cone bipolar cells share common cone partners, each bipolar cell type that we examined depends differentially on sensory input to achieve mature connectivity. Thus, visual experience differentially affects maturation of rod versus cone pathways and of cell types within the cone pathway.
authors: Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors: Felice A
authors: FA
authors: Dunn
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Della Santina
authors: Edward D
authors: ED
authors: Parker
authors: Rachel O L
authors: RO
authors: Wong
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000235:genetics; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051245:Retinal Bipolar Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D037121:Plant Lectins; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate; C034981:tomato lectin; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins