GABA-mediated negative feedback and color opponency in carp retina

In the isolated, perfused retina of the carp, the effects of GABA and its antagonists, picrotoxin and bicuculline, were investigated on spectral responses of horizontal cells. When the GABA-mediated feedback from horizontal cells to cones was desensitized or blocked by these chemicals, remarkable changes were observed in spectral responses, due to selective suppression of responses to long wavelengths. In particular, the depolarizing responses in the biphasic C-type (H2) cell were abolished, while the hyperpolarizing responses to short wavelengths were retained, resulting in a monophasic spectral response curve. From these results, it was concluded that the GABA-mediated negative feedback plays an essential role in neural mechanisms which convert the trichromatic process at the level of cones into the opponent color process in horizontal cells.