A statistical analysis and comparison of soma diameter spectra for classical neurones from different regions of the cat retinal ganglion cell layer

Soma and axon diameter distributions and central projections of ferret retinal ganglion cells

Using a combination of retrograde horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labelling, silver staining, and electron microscopy, we have assessed the relationship between retinal ganglion cell soma size and axon diameter in the adult ferret (Mustela putorius furo). Retinal ganglion cells were labelled following injections of HRP into the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), superior colliculus (SC), or LGN+SC. The soma size distributions following LGN, SC, or LGN+SC injections were all unimodal showing considerable overlap between different cell classes. This was confirmed for alpha cells identified on the basis of dendritic filling or from neurofibrillar-stained retinae. Analysis of the soma size and axon diameters of a population of heavily labelled retinal ganglion cells showed a significant correlation between the two. However, the overall distribution of intraretinal axon diameter was bimodal with an extended tail. Analysis of the ganglion cell distributions in the adult ferret indicates that beta cells comprise about 50.5-55%, gamma 42.5-47%, and alpha 2.5% of the ganglion cell population. This implies that the proportion of gamma, beta, alpha cells in both cat and ferret retina is highly conserved despite differences in visual specialization in the two species.

Retinal ganglion cell axon diameter spectrum of the cat: mean axon diameter varies according to retinal position

Axon diameters of retinal ganglion cells were measured from electron micrographs of the nerve fiber layer of the cat. Three adult retinae were examined which had mean axonal diameters of 1.18 +/- 0.86 (n = 5553), 1.12 +/- 0.79 (n = 7265), and 1.47 +/- 1.11 microns (n = 10,867). Cumulative histograms from several locations adjacent to the optic disc were unimodal (modal peaks: 0.6-0.8 microns). This unimodal distribution, however, did not reflect the regional differences in axonal diameters found throughout the retina. In many locations, especially those related to axons of the temporal retina, axon diameter distributions were clearly bimodal or even trimodal (modal peaks: 0.6-0.8, 1.4-2.1, and 3.3 microns). Measurements from one retina indicated that the mean diameters of axons arising from the area centralis and visual streak (0.94 +/- 0.63 and 0.98 +/- 0.68, respectively) were not significantly different from each other; however, when compared to other areas around the optic disc, the percentage of fibers with diameters between 1.5-2.0 microns was highest in the sample adjacent to the area centralis. Axons temporal to the optic disc were found to be on average larger than those nasal to the optic disc; similarly superior axons were larger than inferior axons. Axonal distributions at the retinal periphery were found to be significantly different from those at the optic disc (P < or = 0.05) and contained a higher percentage of medium-sized axons and fewer small axons. In each of the three retinae the proportions small, medium, and large axons were respectively gamma: 46; 47; 48, beta: 50; 49; 48, and alpha: 4; 4; 4; regional differences in the proportions of each axonal class are compared to previously published ganglion cell density maps. Differences between axonal bundles within each sample location were not significantly different; however, in one retina axons in the scleral half of the fiber layer were significantly larger (P < or = 0.01) than axons in the vitreal half of the nerve fiber layer adjacent to the optic disc. When compared to the axonal diameter distributions found within the optic nerve (Cottee et al., 1991) and optic tract (Reese et al., 1991), our data indicates that the diameter of retinal axons may increase by up to 30% along the length of the visual pathway.

Morphological correlates of Y, X and W type ganglion cells in the cat's retina

After physiological recordings with microelectrodes containing horseradish peroxidase (HRP), morphological properties of Y, X and W type ganglion cells were studied on flat-mounted cat's retinas. While all the Y cells (N = 9) and the X cells (N = 8) revealed alpha and beta cell morphologies of Boycott and Wässle [J. Physiol. 240, 397-419 (1974)], respectively, W cells (N = 4) revealed various morphological types including their gamma and delta cells. The Y cells were larger than X cells in soma diameter, but the W cells were of the same range as X cells. Electron microscopic observations of the cross-sectioned nerve fiber bundles provided evidence for the segregation of axon diameters into the three groups corresponding to Y, X and W axons. It was discussed that functional trichotomy of retinal ganglion cells is related to the differentiation more in axon diameter rather than in soma size.

The distributions of photoreceptors and ganglion cells in the California ground squirrel, Spermophilus beecheyi

The topographical distributions of photoreceptors and ganglion cells of the California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) were quantified in a light microscopic study. The central retina contains broad, horizontal streaks of high photoreceptor density (40-44,000/mm2) and high ganglion cell density (20-24,000/mm2). The isodensity contours of both cell types are elliptical and oriented along the nasal-temporal axis. There are roughly five-fold decreases in both photoreceptor and ganglion cell densities with increasing eccentricity, the lowest densities being found in the superior retina. Large transitions in cell density and retinal thickness occur across the linear optic nerve head. Rod frequency increases with increasing eccentricity, from 5 to 7% in the central retina to 15 to 20% in the periphery. Roughly 10% of the cones possess wide, dark-staining ellipsoids. These cones are uniformly distributed across the retina which suggests that they may belong to a separate cone class, possibly blue-sensitive cones. The ganglion cell soma size distribution is unimodal, with the majority of somata being 25-50 micron2. Large ganglion cells (somata greater than 100 micron2) are rare in the central retina, but their frequency increases with increasing eccentricity. No evidence for separate size classes of ganglion cells was found. The gradual decrement of photoreceptor density across the ground squirrel retina suggests that there are only relatively small changes in acuity across much of the animal's visual space compared with species possessing either a narrow visual streak or fovea or area centralis.