Lateral gap junction connections between retinal amacrine cells summating sustained responses

Vertebrate retinal amacrine cells produce transient or sustained responses. Sustained depolarizing amacrine cells in the dace retina were identified by their intracellularly recorded responses to light flashes. The response amplitude produced a notable spatial summation which exceeded that of individual dendritic arbors. When sustained type amacrine cells were intracellularly injected with Lucifer Yellow and biocytin, there was extensive transfer of biocytin, but not Lucifer Yellow, to surrounding cells with similar cellular morphology. Ultrastructural analysis of the interconnections by electron microscopy revealed the presence of gap junctions at the contact area, which did not include conventional synapses. Present results demonstrate that sustained response amacrine cells make direct electrical connections between the cells of the same type and electrical coupling may contribute to extension of their receptive fields.