Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T07:59:15.975Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Distribution and size of ganglion cells in the retinae of large Amazon rodents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

L. C. L. Silveira ,
C. W. Picanço-Diniz  and
E. Oswaldo-Cruz
L. C. L. Silveira
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil
C. W. Picanço-Diniz
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil
E. Oswaldo-Cruz
Affiliation:
Institute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The topographical distribution of density and soma size of the retinal ganglion cells were studied in three species of hystricomorph rodents. Flat-mounted retinae were stained by the Nissl method and the ganglion cells counted on a matrix covering the whole retinae. Soma size was determined for samples at different retinal regions. The agouti, a diurnal rodent, shows a well-developed visual streak, reaching a peak density of 6250 ganglion cells/mm2. The total number of ganglion cells ranged from 477, 427–548, 205 in eight retinae. The ganglion-cell-size histogram of the visual streak region exhibits a marked shift towards smaller values when compared to retinal periphery. Upper and lower regions differ in both cell density and cell size. The crepuscular capybara shows a less-developed visual streak with a peak ganglion cell density of 2250/mm2. The shift towards small-sized cells in the visual streak is less marked. Total ganglion cell population is 368,840. In the nocturnal paca, the upper half of the fundus oculi includes a tapetum lucidum. The retina of this species shows the least-developed visual streak of this group, with the lowest peak ganglion cell density reaching 925/mm2. The total ganglion cell number (230,804) is also smaller than in the two other species. Soma-size spectra of this species are characterized by the presence, in the lower hemi-retina, of very large perikarya comparable in size to the cat's alpha ganglion cells.

Keywords

Ganglion cell topographyVisual streakHystricomorph rodents
Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , March 1989 , pp. 221 - 235
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Campos, G.B., Johnson, J.I. & Bombardieri, R.A. (1972). Organization of tactile thalamus and related behavior in the agouti, Dasyprocta aguti. Physiology and Behavior 8, 553–556.Google Scholar
Campos, G.B. & Welker, W.I. (1976). Comparison between brains of a large and a small hystricomorph rodent: capybara, Hydrochoerus and guinea pig, Cavia; neocortical projection regions and measurements of brain subdivisions. Brain Behavior and Evolution 13, 243–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choudhury, B.P. (1978). Retinotopic organization of the guinea pig's visual cortex. Brain Research 144, 19–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dräger, U.C. & Olsen, J.F. (1981). Ganglion cell distribution in the retina of the mouse. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 20, 285–293.Google Scholar
Friant, M. (1945). Le télencéphale des Dasyproctidae rongeurs améri-cains. Bulletin de la Societé Zoologique de France 70, 15–23.Google Scholar
Fukuda, Y. (1977). A three-group classification of rat retinal ganglion cells: histological and physiological studies. Brain Research 119, 327–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grzimek, B. (1968). Animal Life Encyclopedia. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.Google Scholar
Hanker, J.S., Yates, P.E., Metz, C.B. & Rustioni, A. (1977). A new specific, sensitive and noncarcinogenic reagent for the demonstration of horseradish peroxidase. Histochemical Journal 9, 789–792.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hebel, R. (1976). Distribution of retinal ganglion cells in five mammalian species (pig, sheep, ox, horse, and dog). Anatomy and Embryology 150, 45–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, A. (1971). Topographical relationships between the anatomy and physiology of the rabbit visual system. Documenta Ophthalmologica 30, 33–159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, A. (1975 a). A comparison of retinal ganglion cell topography in the plains and tree kangaroo. Journal of Physiology (London) 244, 61P–63P.Google Scholar
Hughes, A. (1975 b). A quantitative analysis of the cat retinal ganglion cell topography. Journal of Comparative Neurology 163, 107–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, A. (1977). The topography of vision in mammals of contrasting life styles; comparative optics and retinal organization. In Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. VII/5. The Visual System in Vertebrates, ed. Crescitelli, F., pp. 613–756. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Hughes, A. (1981). Population magnitudes and distribution of the major modal classes of cat retinal ganglion cells as estimated from HRP filling and a systematic survey of the soma diameter spectra for classical neurones. Journal of Comparative Neurology 197, 303–339.Google Scholar
Hughes, A. & Whitteridge, D. (1973). The receptive fields and topographical organization of goat retinal ganglion cells. Vision Research 13, 1101–1114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, G.L. (1901). Contributions to the comparative anatomy of the mammalian eye, chiefly based on ophthalmoscopic examination. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 194, 1–82.Google Scholar
Land, M.F. (1981). Optics and vision in invertebrates. In Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. VII/6. Vision in Invertebrates, Part B: Invertebrate Visual Centers and Behavior, I, ed. Autrum, H., pp. 471–592. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Long, K.O. & Fisher, S.K. (1983). The distributions of photorecep-tors and ganglion cells in the California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi). Journal of Comparative Neurology 221, 329–340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oswaldo–Cruz, E., Picanço–Diniz, C.W. & Silveira, L.C.L. (1985 a). Quantitative analysis of the distribution of the retinal ganglion cells in Amazon rodents. Journal of Physiology (London) 360, 24P.Google Scholar
Oswaldo–Cruz, E., Picanço–Diniz, C.W. & Silveira, L.C.L. (1985 b). Physiological optics of some Amazon rodents with contrasting life styles. Journal of Physiology (London) 367, 18P.Google Scholar
Oswaldo–Cruz, E., Picanço–Diniz, C.W. & Silveira, L.C.L. (1986). Quantitative analysis of the retinal ganglion cell size in Amazon rodents. Journal of Physiology (London) 374, 39P.Google Scholar
Oyster, C.W., Takahashi, E.S. & Hurst, D.C. (1981). Density, soma size, and regional distribution of rabbit retinal ganglion cells. Journal of Neuroscience 1, 1331–1346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perry, V.H. (1982). The ganglion cell layer of the mammalian retina. In Progress in Retinal Research, Vol. 1, ed. Osborne, N. & Chader, G., pp. 53–80. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Perry, V.H., Henderson, Z. & Linden, R. (1983). Postnatal changes in retinal ganglion cell and optic axon populations in the pigmented rat. Journal of Comparative Neurology 219, 356–368.Google Scholar
Perry, V.H. & Linden, R. (1982). Evidence for dendritic competition in the developing retina. Nature (London) 297, 683–685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Picanço-Diniz, C.W. (1987). Organização do sistema visual de roedores da Amazônia: topografia das areas corticais visuais da culia (Dasyprocta aguti). Tese de Doutor em Ciências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofíesica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Picanço-Diniz, C.W., Oliveira, H.L.S., Silveira, L.C.L. & Oswaldo-Cruz, E. (1989). The visual cortex of the agouti (Dasyprocta aguti): architectonic subdivisions. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research (in press).Google ScholarPubMed
Picanço-Diniz, C.W., Silveira, L.C.L. & Oswaldo-Cruz, E. (1981). Representation of the visual field in the cortex of the agouti (Dasyprocta aguti). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 53, 633–634.Google Scholar
Pimntel-Souza, F., Cosenza, R.M., Campos, G.B. & Johnson, J.I. (1980). Somatic sensory cortical regions of the agouti (Dasyprocta aguti). Brain Behavior and Evolution 17, 218–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provis, J.M. (1979). The distribution and size of ganglion cells in the retina of the pigmented rabbit: a quantitative analysis. Journal of Comparative Neurology 1985, 121–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provis, J.M. & Watson, C.R.R. (1981). The distribution of ipsilater-ally and contralaterally projecting ganglion cells in the retina of the pigmented rabbit. Experimental Brain Research 44, 82–92.Google Scholar
Reese, B.E. & Cowey, A. (1986). Large retinal ganglion cells in the rat: their distribution and laterality of projection. Experimental Brain Research 153, 375–385.Google Scholar
Schober, W. & Gruschka, H. (1977). Die ganglienzellen der retina der albinoratte: eine qualitative und quantitative studie. Zoologie Mikroskopiche und Anatomie Forschung (Leipzig) 3, 397–414.Google Scholar
Silveira, L.C.L. (1985). Organiza¸ão do sistema visual de roedores da Amazônia: optica ocular e distribuição das ce´lulas ganglionares retinianas. Tese de Doutor em Ciências, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofi'sica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar
Silveira, L.C.L., Botelho, A.C., Picanço-Diniz, C.W. & Oswaldo-Cruz, E. (1983). Distribuição das células ganglionares retinianas do Proechimys. Ciência e Cultura Supl. 35, 615.Google Scholar
Silveira, L.C.L., Picanço-Diniz, C.W. & Oswaldo-Cruz, E. (1981). Quantitative analysis and distribution of ganglion cells in the retina of the agouti (Dasyprocta aguti). Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 53, 632.Google Scholar
Stone, J. (1965). A quantitative analysis of the distribution of ganglion cells in the cat's retina. Journal of Comparative Neurology 124, 337–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, J. (1978). The number and distribution of ganglion cells in the cat's retina. Journal of Comparative Neurology 180, 753–772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, J. (1981). The Whole Mount Handbook: A Guide to the Preparation and Analysis of Retina Whole Mounts. Sydney: Maitland Publications.Google Scholar
Stone, J. (1983). Parallel Processing in the Visual System: The Classification of Retinal Ganglion Cells and Its Impact on the Neurobi-ology of Vision. New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tancred, E. (1981). The distribution and sizes of ganglion cells in the retinas of five Australian marsupialis. Journal of Comparative Neurology 196, 585–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiao, Y.C. & Blakemore, C. (1976). Regional specialization in the golden hamster's retina. Journal of Comparative Neurology 168, 439–458.Google ScholarPubMed
Wakakuwa, K., Washida, A. & Fukuda, Y. (1985). Distribution and soma size of ganglion cells in the retina of the Eastern chipmunk (Tamiassibiricus asiaticus). Vision Research 25, 877–885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wässle, H., Levick, W.R. & Cleland, B.G. (1975). The distribution of the alpha type of ganglion cells in the cat's retina. Journal of Comparative Neurology 159, 419–438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weibel, E.R. (1969). Stereological principles for morphometry in electron microscopic citology. International Review of Cytology 26, 235–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar