A melanopsin ganglion cell subtype forms a dorsal retinal mosaic projecting to the supraoptic nucleus

In addition to rod and cone photoreceptors, the mammalian retina contains intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). Here the authors identify a population of ipRGCs that encode ventral vision. Visual input to the hypothalamus from intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) influences several functions including circadian entrainment, body temperature, and sleep. ipRGCs also project to nuclei such as the supraoptic nucleus (SON), which is involved in systemic fluid homeostasis, maternal behavior, social behaviors, and appetite. However, little is known about the SON-projecting ipRGCs or their relationship to well-characterized ipRGC subtypes. Using a GlyT2 ^ Cre mouse line, we show a subtype of ipRGCs restricted to the dorsal retina that selectively projects to the SON. These ipRGCs tile a dorsal region of the retina, forming a substrate for encoding ground luminance. Optogenetic activation of their axons demonstrates they release the neurotransmitter glutamate in multiple regions, including the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and SON. Our results challenge the idea that ipRGC dendrites overlap to optimize photon capture and suggests non-image forming vision operates to sample local regions of the visual field to influence diverse behaviors.

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  Nature Communications

• Publication date

  2023-03-17

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-36955-6PMID 36932080PMCID 10023714
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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