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Is nitric oxide a transmitter of the centrifugal projection to the avian retina?
I G Morgan1, P Miethke, Z K Li
1Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra City.
Abstract:
The chicken retina contains a population of prominent elements in the inner nuclear layer, which stain for NADPH-diaphorase. In distribution and morphology, these elements resemble the terminals of the centrifugal projection from the isthmo-optic nucleus. This identification was confirmed by showing that the NADPH-diaphorase-positive elements in the retina degenerated after destruction of the isthmo-optic nucleus or tract. These results indicate that the centrifugal projection to the retina in birds uses nitric oxide as a messenger or transmitter, in addition to a more conventional but as yet unidentified transmitter.