Light-Evoked Postsynaptic Responses in Neurons of Mouse Retinal Slices
Transcript
Take a dark-adapted mouse retinal slice inside a recording chamber in a dark room. The retina sits on a supportive artificial base set over a cover slip. Perfuse the slice with aCSF.
The retinal neural network includes photoreceptors synaptically linked to bipolar cells that synapse with ganglion cells.
Position a recording pipette near the retina.
Under a microscope, apply positive pressure while approaching a target ganglion cell.
Switch to negative pressure to pull in a membrane patch, then rupture it to establish continuity with the cytoplasm.
In the dark, the photoreceptor membrane remains depolarized, leading to neurotransmitter release.
Neurotransmitters binding to bipolar cell receptors trigger cation channel closure, inhibiting signal transmission.
Apply a light pulse to hyperpolarize the photoreceptors. The decreased neurotransmitter release triggers cation channel opening in bipolar cells.
Cation influx induces neurotransmitter release that binds to ganglion cell receptors, generating an excitatory post-synaptic potential recorded by the pipette.
