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Updated: May 28, 2026

An Isolated Retinal Preparation to Record Light Response from Genetically Labeled Retinal Ganglion Cells
Published on: January 26, 2011
Rod vision is controlled by dopamine-dependent sensitization of rod bipolar cells by GABA
Rolf Herrmann1, Stephanie J Heflin, Timothy Hammond
1Albert Eye Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
Dark and light adaptation of retinal neurons allow our vision to operate over an enormous light intensity range. Here we report a mechanism that controls the light sensitivity and operational range of rod-driven bipolar cells that mediate dim-light vision. Our data indicate that the light responses of these cells are enhanced by sustained chloride currents via GABA(C) receptor channels. This sensitizing GABAergic input is controlled by dopamine D1 receptors, with horizontal cells serving as a plausible source of GABA release. Our findings expand the role of dopamine in vision from its well-established function of suppressing rod-driven signals in bright light to enhancing the same signals under dim illumination. They further reveal a role for GABA in sensitizing the circuitry for dim-light vision, thereby complementing GABA's traditional role in providing dynamic feedforward and feedback inhibition in the retina.
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