Electrical responses of rods in the retina of Bufo marinus

1. Intracellular responses to flashes and steps of light have been recorded from the outer segment and the cell body of rods in the retina of the Bufo marinus. The identification of the origin of recorded responses has been confirmed by intracellular marking.2. Responses to flashes delivered in darkness or superimposed on a background were analysed. Responses recorded from outer segments conform to the principle of ;spectral univariance'. The shape of the response is not affected by enlarging the spot diameter from 150 to 1000 mum.3. The membrane potential measured in darkness at the outer segments varied from -15 to -25 mV. Injection of steady hyperpolarizing currents increases the size of the response to light; depolarizing currents reduce the response. The mean value of the input resistance is 97 +/- 30 MOmega in darkness and increases by 20-30% during illumination.4. The responses obtained from the cell body of rods have the same shape, time course and spectral sensitivity of those recorded at the outer segment. Injection of steady current at the cell body produces different effects than at the outer segment: hyperpolarizing currents reduce the amplitude of the response to light; depolarizing currents increase the response.5. The experimental data are fitted according to a model similar to that used to describe the responses of turtle cones (Baylor & Hodgkin, 1974; Baylor, Hodgkin & Lamb, 1974a, b).6. The model reproduces the electrical responses of the rod outer segment to a variety of stimuli: (a) brief flashes and steps of light in dark adapted conditions; (b) bright flashes superimposed on background illuminations; (c) pairs of flashes delivered at different time intervals. Responses to hyperpolarizing steps of current are also reproduced by the model.