Functional role of horizontal cells
Functional role of horizontal cells
Horizontal cells receive excitatory input from photoreceptors and provide feedback inhibition to photoreceptors and feedforward inhibition to bipolar cells. Because of strong electrical coupling horizontal cells integrate the photoreceptor input over a wide area and are thought to contribute to the antagonistic organization of bipolar cell and ganglion cell receptive fields and to tune the photoreceptor–bipolar cell synapse with respect to the ambient light conditions. However, the extent to which this influence shapes retinal output is unclear, and we aim to elucidate the functional importance of horizontal cells for retinal signal processing by studying various transgenic mouse models.
Related Publications
Kemmler R, Schultz K, Dedek K, Euler T, Schubert T. 2014. Differential regulation of cone calcium signals by different horizontal cell feedback mechanisms in the mouse retina. J Neurosci. 34, 11826-43. PubMed
Ströh S, Sonntag S, Janssen-Bienhold U, Schultz K, Cimiotti K, Weiler R, Willecke K, Dedek K. 2013. Cell-specific cre recombinase expression allows selective ablation of glutamate receptors from mouse horizontal cells. PLoS One. 8, e83076. PubMed
Sonntag S, Dedek K, Dorgau B, Schultz K, Schmidt KF, Cimiotti K, Weiler R, Löwel S, Willecke K, Janssen-Bienhold U. 2012. Ablation of retinal horizontal cells from adult mice leads to rod degeneration and remodeling in the outer retina. J Neurosci. 32, 10713-10724. PubMed
Janssen-Bienhold U, Trümpler J, Hilgen G, Schultz K, Pérez de Sevilla Müller L, Sonntag S, Dedek K, Dirks P, Willecke K, Weiler R. 2009. Connexin57 is expressed in dendro-dendritic and axo-axonal gap junctions of mouse horizontal cells and its distribution is modulated by light. J Comp Neurol. 513, 363-374. PubMed
Trümpler J, Dedek K, Schubert T, de Sevilla Müller LP, Seeliger M, Humphries P, Biel M, Weiler R. 2008. Rod and cone contributions to horizontal cell light responses in the mouse retina. J Neurosci. 28, 6818-6825. PubMed
Dedek K, Pandarinath C, Alam NM, Wellershaus K, Schubert T, Willecke K, Prusky GT, Weiler R, Nirenberg S. 2008. Ganglion cell adaptability: does the coupling of horizontal cells play a role? PLoS One. 3, e1714. PubMed