Diminished Pupillary Light Reflex at High Irradiances in Melanopsin-Knockout Mice

In the mammalian retina, a small subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are intrinsically photosensitive, express the opsin-like protein melanopsin, and project to brain nuclei involved in non-image-forming visual functions such as pupillary light reflex and circadian photoentrainment. We report th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2003-01, Vol.299 (5604), p.245-247
Main Authors: Lucas, R. J., Hattar, S., Takao, M., Berson, D. M., Foster, R. G., K. -W. Yau
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Ocular
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Carbachol - pharmacology
Circadian Rhythm
Circles
Darkness
Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genotypes
Irradiance
Light
Light Signal Transduction
Mammals
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Mops
Olivary Nucleus - cytology
Olivary Nucleus - physiology
Phenotype
Photons
Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate - physiology
Pupil (Eye)
Pupil - drug effects
Pupil - physiology
Pupil size
Pupillary light reflex
Pupillary reflex
Reflex, Pupillary
Retina
Retinal Degeneration - genetics
Retinal Degeneration - physiopathology
Retinal Ganglion Cells - physiology
Rod Opsins - genetics
Rod Opsins - physiology
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus - physiology
Testing
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the mammalian retina, a small subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are intrinsically photosensitive, express the opsin-like protein melanopsin, and project to brain nuclei involved in non-image-forming visual functions such as pupillary light reflex and circadian photoentrainment. We report that in mice with the melanopsin gene ablated, RGCs retrograde-labeled from the supra-chiasmatic nuclei were no longer intrinsically photosensitive, although their number, morphology, and projections were unchanged. These animals showed a pupillary light reflex indistinguishable from that of the wild type at low irradiances, but at high irradiances the reflex was incomplete, a pattern that suggests that the melanopsin-associated system and the classical rod/cone system are complementary in function.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1077293