Stratified distribution of synapses in the inner plexiform layer of primate retina

Distributions of bipolar (B) and amacrine (A) synapses and postsynaptic ganglion cell (G) dendritic profiles in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) were analyzed in EM montages of monkey central and human foveal and peripheral retinae. Synapses and profiles were counted and plotted for each 5% interval of IPL, with 0% at the inner edge of the inner nuclear layer and 100% at the outer edge of the ganglion cell layer. In monkey and human retinae, both A and B synapses occur throughout the IPL, but the ratio of A to B synapses varies from 2:1 to more than 6:1. In the monkey central retina, four bands of A conventional synapses are concentrated at 15, 35, 60, and 80% depth. In the human foveal slope, there are two main A bands at 45 and 85%, whereas in the human periphery, there are five bands at 15, 35, 60, 75, and 90%. In both species, A processes containing large dense-core vesicles are concentrated in three bands at 10-20, 50, and 80-90% depth, corresponding to previously described levels of peptides, dopamine, and GABA. B ribbon synapses are distributed fairly evenly throughout the IPL, with a suggestion of four broadly overlapping bands. Most B ribbons are presynaptic to one A and one G (B----A/G). In the human, there are significantly more B dyads with postsynaptic G's (B----A/G, B----G/G) in the fovea (91%) than in the periphery (66%), implying greater A cell processing peripherally. Also in the human, B terminals containing glycogenlike granules are concentrated in the outer half of the IPL, with agranular terminals in the inner half. Our results demonstrate multiple strata containing different types of synaptic contacts in primate IPL.