Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Recording Light-evoked Postsynaptic Responses in Neurons in Dark-adapted, Mouse Retinal Slice Preparations Using Patch Clamp Techniques
Published on: February 11, 2015
GABAA presynaptic inhibition regulates the gain and kinetics of retinal output neurons
Jenna Nagy1,2,3, Briana Ebbinghaus2,4,5, Mrinalini Hoon1,2,4
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States.
Abstract:
Output signals of neural circuits, including the retina, are shaped by a combination of excitatory and inhibitory signals. Inhibitory signals can act presynaptically on axon terminals to control neurotransmitter release and regulate circuit function. However, it has been difficult to study the role of presynaptic inhibition in most neural circuits due to lack of cell type-specific and receptor type-specific perturbations. In this study, we used a transgenic approach to selectively eliminate GABAA inhibitory receptors from select types of second-order neurons - bipolar cells - in mouse retina and examined how this affects the light response properties of the well-characterized ON alpha ganglion cell retinal circuit. Selective loss of GABAA receptor-mediated presynaptic inhibition causes an enhanced sensitivity and slower kinetics of light-evoked responses from ON alpha ganglion cells thus highlighting the role of presynaptic inhibition in gain control and temporal filtering of sensory signals in a key neural circuit in the mammalian retina.
Related Concept Videos
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory...
Activation and Inactivation of G Proteins
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters
The Retina
Anatomy of the Eyeball

