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Amacrine cell-mediated input to bipolar cells: Variations on a common mechanistic theme

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2012

WILLIAM N. GRIMES
WILLIAM N. GRIMES*
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
*
†Address correspondence and reprint requests to: William N. Grimes, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195. E-mail: wgrimes8@gmail.com
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Abstract

Feedback is a ubiquitous feature of neural circuits in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Analogous to pure electronic circuits, neuronal feedback provides either a positive or negative influence on the output of upstream components/neurons. Although the particulars (i.e., connectivity, physiological encoding/processing/signaling) of circuits in higher areas of the brain are often unclear, the inner retina proves an excellent model for studying both the anatomy and physiology of feedback circuits within the functional context of visual processing. Inner retinal feedback to bipolar cells is almost entirely mediated by a single class of interneurons, the amacrine cells. Although this might sound like a simple circuit arrangement with an equally simple function, anatomical, molecular, and functional evidence suggest that amacrine cells represent an extremely diverse class of CNS interneurons that contribute to a variety of retinal processes. In this review, I classify the amacrine cells according to their anatomical output synapses and target cell(s) (i.e., bipolar cells, ganglion cells, and/or amacrine cells) and discuss specifically our current understandings of amacrine cell-mediated feedback and output to bipolar cells on the synaptic, cellular, and circuit levels, while drawing connections to visual processing.

Keywords

RetinaSynapseInterneuronInhibitionFeedbackDendritic integrationGap junctions
Type
Review Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 41 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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