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Bipolar cell pathways for color vision in non-primate dichromats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2010

CHRISTIAN PULLER  and
SILKE HAVERKAMP
CHRISTIAN PULLER
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroanatomy, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
SILKE HAVERKAMP*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroanatomy, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
*
†Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Silke Haverkamp, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Deutschordenstr 46, D-60528 Frankfurt a.M., Germany. E-mail: haverkamp@mpih-frankfurt.mpg.de
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Abstract

Color vision in mammals is based on the expression of at least two cone opsins that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light. Furthermore, retinal pathways conveying color-opponent signals are required for color discrimination. Most of the primates are trichromats, and “color-coded channels” of their retinas are unveiled to a large extent. In contrast, knowledge of cone-selective pathways in nonprimate dichromats is only slowly emerging, although retinas of dichromats like mice or rats are extensively studied as model systems for retinal information processing. Here, we review recent progress of research on color-coded pathways in nonprimate dichromats to identify differences or similarities between di- and trichromatic mammals. In addition, we applied immunohistochemical methods and confocal microscopy to retinas of different species and present data on their neuronal properties, which are expected to contribute to color vision. Basic neuronal features such as the “blue cone bipolar cell” exist in every species investigated so far. Moreover, there is increasing evidence for chromatic OFF channels in dichromats and retinal ganglion cells that relay color-opponent signals to the brain. In conclusion, di- and trichromats share similar retinal pathways for color transmission and processing.

Keywords

Color codingParallel pathwaysBlue cone bipolar cellsHorizontal cellsGlutamate receptors

Information

Type
Review Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 51 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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