摘要:

Although much is known about the optics and mechanism of ocular accommodation in teleost fishes, there is to date no description of the neurons innervating the muscle of accommodation, the lens retractor. I have identified accommodation motor neurons in the kelp bass, Paralabrax clathratus, by backfilling the lens retractor nerve (a branch of the short ciliary nerve) with the retrograde tracer horseradish peroxidase. These neurons comprise a subpopulation of relatively large unipolar neurons in the ciliary ganglion. Backfilling either of the remaining ciliary nerve branches (which innervate mainly cornea and iris) labels smaller cells in the ciliary ganglion as well as sensory neurons in the profundus ganglion and sympathetic neurons in the trigeminal sympathetic ganglion. No labeled cells were found in the brain in any of these experiments. I have also examined the lens retractor nerve and the corneal-iridal branch of the short ciliary nerve by electron microscopy. Counts of axons in these nerves from animals of different sizes suggest postembryonic growth of axon number in the corneal-iridal branch but not in the lens retractor nerve. The latter comprises approximately 100 myelinated and a few unmyelinated axons. Its diameter spectrum shows a preponderance of large-diameter axons, but the myelin sheaths are unusually thin (mean axon diameter: 7.5 µm; mean ratio axon diameter/fiber diameter: g = 0.81 for 830-gram animal). The results indicate that kelp bass accommodation motor neurons lie primarily if not entirely within the ciliary ganglion. Some of their axons are the largest in the short ciliary nerve, but their sheath thicknesses are apparently not optimal with respect to conduction velocity

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000108541

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Although much is known about the optics and mechanism of ocular accommodation in teleost fishes, there is to date no description of the neurons innervating the muscle of accommodation, the lens retractor. I have identified accommodation motor neurons in the kelp bass, Paralabrax clathratus, by backfilling the lens retractor nerve (a branch of the short ciliary nerve) with the retrograde tracer horseradish peroxidase. These neurons comprise a subpopulation of relatively large unipolar neurons in the ciliary ganglion. Backfilling either of the remaining ciliary nerve branches (which innervate mainly cornea and iris) labels smaller cells in the ciliary ganglion as well as sensory neurons in the profundus ganglion and sympathetic neurons in the trigeminal sympathetic ganglion. No labeled cells were found in the brain in any of these experiments. I have also examined the lens retractor nerve and the corneal-iridal branch of the short ciliary nerve by electron microscopy. Counts of axons in these nerves from animals of different sizes suggest postembryonic growth of axon number in the corneal-iridal branch but not in the lens retractor nerve. The latter comprises approximately 100 myelinated and a few unmyelinated axons. Its diameter spectrum shows a preponderance of large-diameter axons, but the myelin sheaths are unusually thin (mean axon diameter: 7.5 μm; mean ratio axon diameter/fiber diameter: g = 0.81 for 830-gram animal). The results indicate that kelp bass accommodation motor neurons lie primarily if not entirely within the ciliary ganglion. Some of their axons are the largest in the short ciliary nerve, but their sheath thicknesses are apparently not optimal with respect to conduction velocity.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000116528

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

The geometry of the brain and cerebral cortex in mammals has been studied from an evolutionary perspective and is described in mathematical terms. The volume of the cerebral cortex, in contrast to the cortical surface area, scales to brain volume in a similar way, irrespective of the degree of cortical folding. Among mammals, Cetacea form a subgroup, in that their volumetric data fit an isometric model better than an allometric model. An index of corticalization is presented which contains information about both the mass of interconnective nerve fibers and the degree of intracortical processing. It is shown, furthermore, that a semilogarithmic equation appropriately describes the relationship between mean cortical thickness and brain volume. Finally, allometric equations between brain volume and cortical parameters, which can be used for predictive purposes, are presented.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000116529

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Previous studies have shown that configurational prey recognition in common toads is performed by feature-analyzing functional units consisting of assemblies of connected neurons such as retinal (classes R2, R3), tectal [classes T5(1), T5(2), T5(3)], and pretectal (class TH3) cells. In the present paper, effects of textured backgrounds on the response of these neurons to a configurational moving stimulus have been tested quantitatively. (1) In all investigated neurons, neither the overall activation nor the respective stimulus-response relationships were significantly influenced by a stationary black/white-textured background as far as black stimulus objects are concerned. (2) The neuronal activity in response to a moving object (signal) could be inhibited (masked) if a black/white-textured background (noise) was moving simultaneously at the same speed. The strength (I) of this 'surround inhibition' (signal masking by the background) was different in the various classes of neurons, i.e. strongest for T5(2) and weakest for R3: IT5(2) &camp; IT5(1)&camp; IT5(3) > IR2 > ITH3 &camp; IR3. These inhibitory effects were not correlated with the size of the neuronal excitatory receptive field (ERF), since T4 neurons (ERF = 180°) in this context displayed response properties similar to T5(2) neurons (ERF < 30°). (3) It is suggested that the signal (prey)-masking effect of a moving textured background is brought about by pretecto (TH3)-tectal [T5(1), T5(2)] inhibitory connectivity which allows toads: (a) to select prey from nonprey; (b) to discriminate between prey and a textured background, and (c) to determine the origin of moving retinal images caused either by object movement or by self-induced motion.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000116530

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Wehave estimated the total number, distribution and peak density of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in retinal wholemounts of several species of microchiropteran (echolocating) bats. The estimates are based on counts of Nissl-stained, presumed RGCs. The total number of presumed RGCs varies among the species: from about 4,500 in Rhinolophus rouxi to about 120,000 in Macroderma gigas. In addition, in two species (Nyctophilus gouldi and M. gigas), the estimates are based on counts of positively identified RGCs retrogradely labelled with the enzyme horseradish peroxidase injected into the retinorecipient nuclei. In these two species, the numbers and distributions of retrogradely labelled RGCs and Nissl-stained presumed RGCs are very similar. In all six species studied, the peak-density regions of presumed (or positively identified) RGCs are located in the inferotemporal retinae, and the RGC isodensity lines tend to be horizontally elongated. However, the RGC densities in the high-density regions are only 2–4 times greater than those in the low-density regions in the superior retinae. The somal sizes of RGCs vary from 5 to 16 μm in diameter and are unimodally distributed. There is no indication of the existence of distinct morphological classes of RGCs. The axial lenghts of microchiropteran eyes vary from 1.8 mm in R. rouxi to 7.0 mm in M. gigas. For all species the posterior nodal distance (PND) was assumed to be 0.52 of the axial length of the eye. This assumption is based on the analysis of published data concerning schematic eyes of nocturnal vertebrates. These derived values of the PNDs allowed us to calculate the retinal magnification factors and the number of RGCs per degree of visual angle. From these, the upper limits of visual acuity were derived on the basis of the assumptions of the sampling theorem. The estimated upper limits of visual acuity of the six species of echolocating bats vary from about 0.35 cycles/degree in R. rouxi to about 2 cycles/degree in M. gigas. This range is quite similar to the range of visual acuities in murid rodents.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000116531

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Wehave estimated the total number, distribution and peak density of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in retinal wholemounts of several species of microchiropteran (echolocating) bats. The estimates are based on counts of Nissl-stained, presumed RGCs. The total number of presumed RGCs varies among the species: from about 4,500 in Rhinolophus rouxi to about 120,000 in Macroderma gigas. In addition, in two species (Nyctophilus gouldi and M. gigas), the estimates are based on counts of positively identified RGCs retrogradely labelled with the enzyme horseradish peroxidase injected into the retinorecipient nuclei. In these two species, the numbers and distributions of retrogradely labelled RGCs and Nissl-stained presumed RGCs are very similar. In all six species studied, the peak-density regions of presumed (or positively identified) RGCs are located in the inferotemporal retinae, and the RGC isodensity lines tend to be horizontally elongated. However, the RGC densities in the high-density regions are only 2–4 times greater than those in the low-density regions in the superior retinae. The somal sizes of RGCs vary from 5 to 16 μm in diameter and are unimodally distributed. There is no indication of the existence of distinct morphological classes of RGCs. The axial lenghts of microchiropteran eyes vary from 1.8 mm in R. rouxi to 7.0 mm in M. gigas. For all species the posterior nodal distance (PND) was assumed to be 0.52 of the axial length of the eye. This assumption is based on the analysis of published data concerning schematic eyes of nocturnal vertebrates. These derived values of the PNDs allowed us to calculate the retinal magnification factors and the number of RGCs per degree of visual angle. From these, the upper limits of visual acuity were derived on the basis of the assumptions of the sampling theorem. The estimated upper limits of visual acuity of the six species of echolocating bats vary from about 0.35 cycles/degree in R. rouxi to about 2 cycles/degree in M. gigas. This range is quite similar to the range of visual acuities in murid rodents.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000316042

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Birds exhibit a variable retinal organization in terms of foveas and areas of high cell density. The distribution of these retinal structures in different species does not follow phylogenetic lines. In order to study this phenomenon, we presented chickens and pigeons with a luminous bar that could be moved at different speeds and directions in the visual field and could be located at various distances from the animal; head movements were monitored during the presentations. The results show that for a static or slow-moving stimulus the birds adopted a frontal gaze that stabilized the image in the retina, and for a fast-moving stimulus they adopted a lateral gaze that allowed the image to move across the retina. These results reveal that: (a) these two ways of looking correlate with the retinal anatomy, not with the phylogeny, of the species, and (b) these two ways of looking reflect two different sensorimotor systems that involve different anatomical features and neurophysiological properties of the visual system in birds.

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000116532

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger

ISSN:0006-8977    

DOI:10.1159/000116533

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1988

数据来源: Karger