A surprising property of electrical spread in the network of rods in the turtle's retina

Nature. 1978 Aug 10;274(5671):562-5. doi: 10.1038/274562a0.

Abstract

Flashing a localised stimulus onto a turtle's retina produces an intracellular potential wave which spreads through electrical connections from illuminated to unilluminated photoreceptors. The response in unilluminated rods (but not in cones) becomes faster as the distance from the source increases, perhaps because voltage-dependent permeability changes in the rod membrane make the coupled network behave like a high-pass filter.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Membrane Permeability
  • Electric Conductivity
  • Feedback
  • Membrane Potentials
  • Neural Conduction
  • Photoreceptor Cells / physiology*
  • Retina / physiology*
  • Time Factors
  • Turtles
  • Visual Pathways / physiology*