Morphologic changes in teleost primary and secondary retinal cells following brief exposure to light

Light adaptive morphologic changes in the teleost retina, such as movements of rods, cones, and epithelial pigment and spinule formation on horizontal cell terminals, are normally associated with continual exposure to light. Depending on a variety of factors these processes are generally completed within 30-60 min. In this report we show that a brief exposure to light (1-2 min) preceded and followed by darkness is sufficient to elicit these changes in four species of teleost; the trout (Salmo gairdneri), the tench (Tinca tinca), the carp (Cyprinus carpio), and the goldfish (Carassius auratus). A brief pulse is as effective in causing cone migration and an increase in the number of spinules as continual exposure; however, it is sometimes less effective in causing pigment migration. The photomechanical changes following a brief period of light are always completed more quickly and show greater species variability than the formation of spinules. These results show that the various morphologic manifestations of light adaptation are autonomous processes that need only a short pulse of light to trigger the whole sequence of events. This is of interest when considering their control mechanisms and may have consequences for physiologic work involving experiments on dark-adapted eyes.