Date of Award
2011
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
The amphibian retina is commonly used as a model system for studying function and mechanism of the visual system in electrophysiology, since the neural structure and synaptic mechanism of the amphibian retina are similar to higher vertebrate retinas. I determined the specific subtypes of receptors and channels that are involved in chemical and electrical synapses in the amphibian retina. My study indicates that glycine receptor subunits of GlyRº1, 3 and 4 and glutamate receptor subunit of GluR4 are present in bipolar and amacrine dendrites and axons to conduct chemical synapses in the retinal circuit. I also found that the gap junction channel, pannexin 1a (panx1a), is present in cone-dominated On-bipolar cells and rod-dominated amacrine processes possibly to connect rod-and cone-pathway in the inner retina. In addition, panx1a may form hemi-channels that pass ATP and Ca2+ signals. The findings of my study fill the gap of our knowledge about the subtypes of neurotransmitter receptors and gap junction channels conducting visual information in particular cell types and synaptic areas.
Extent
ix, 48 p. : ill. (some col.)
Recommended Citation
Liu, Yufei., "Localization of chemical and electrical synapses in the retina" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 324.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/324
Identifier
FADT3332725
Comments
by Yufei Liu.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Yufei Liu.