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Dendritic Computation of Direction in Retinal Neurons

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The Computing Dendrite

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience ((NEUROSCI,volume 11))

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Abstract

The retina utilizes a variety of dendritic mechanisms to compute direction from image motion. The computation is accomplished by starburst amacrine cells (SBACs) which are GABAergic neurons presynaptic to direction-selective ganglion cells (DSGCs). SBACs are symmetric neurons with several branched dendrites radiating out from the soma. Larger EPSPs are produced in the dendritic tips of SBACs as a stimulus sequentially activates inputs from the base of each dendrite outwards. The directional difference in EPSP amplitude is further amplified near the dendritic tips by voltage-gated channels to produce directional release of GABA. Reciprocal inhibition between adjacent SBACs may also amplify directional release. Directional signals in the independent SBAC branches are preserved because each dendrite makes selective contacts only with DSGCs of the appropriate preferred-direction. Directional signals are further enhanced within the dendritic arbor of the DSGC, which essentially comprises an array of distinct dendritic compartments. Each of these dendritic compartments locally sum excitatory and inhibitory inputs, amplifies them with voltage-gated channels, and generates spikes that propagate to the axon via the soma. Overall, the computation of direction in the retina is performed by several local dendritic mechanisms both presynaptic and postsynaptic, with the result that directional responses are robust over a broad range of stimuli.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to David Vaney for the image of the starburst amacrine cell in Fig. 13.1a. This study was supported by NEI grant EY022070.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Robert G. Smith

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Portland, OR, 97239, USA

    W. Rowland Taylor

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  1. Robert G. Smith
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Correspondence to Robert G. Smith .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Clinical Neuroanatomy, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society & Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany

    Hermann Cuntz

  2. Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Michiel W.H. Remme

  3. Department of Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Benjamin Torben-Nielsen

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Smith, R.G., Taylor, W.R. (2014). Dendritic Computation of Direction in Retinal Neurons. In: Cuntz, H., Remme, M., Torben-Nielsen, B. (eds) The Computing Dendrite. Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience, vol 11. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8094-5_13

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