Dorsal raphe nucleus projecting retinal ganglion cells: Why Y cells?

Pickard, Gary E.; So, Kwok-Fai; Pu, Mingliang

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.08.004

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 181 publications

(253 reference statements)

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“…This was necessary because it has been reported that unlike other rodents, RGCs did not innervate the mouse DRN. However, the absence of labelled retinal fibres in the mouse DRN was based on anterograde CTB tracing24 and as recently suggested, this technique underrepresents the retinoraphe projection37, perhaps due to reduced access of the large CTB molecule at RGC branch points38. Here, we demonstrate that RGCs innervate the mouse DRN using retrograde tracing with CTB and importantly, with a modified rabies virus that restricted infection to genetically targeted DRN neurons26.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

et al. 2017

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Animals promote their survival by avoiding rapidly approaching objects that indicate threats. In mice, looming-evoked defensive responses are triggered by the superior colliculus (SC) which receives direct retinal inputs. However, the specific neural circuits that begin in the retina and mediate this important behaviour remain unclear. Here we identify a subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) that controls mouse looming-evoked defensive responses through axonal collaterals to the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and SC. Looming signals transmitted by DRN-projecting RGCs activate DRN GABAergic neurons that in turn inhibit serotoninergic neurons. Moreover, activation of DRN serotoninergic neurons reduces looming-evoked defensive behaviours. Thus, a dedicated population of RGCs signals rapidly approaching visual threats and their input to the DRN controls a serotonergic self-gating mechanism that regulates innate defensive responses. Our study provides new insights into how the DRN and SC work in concert to extract and translate visual threats into defensive behavioural responses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

et al. 2017

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“…In the current study, evidence is provided that the retina projects directly to 5-HT and GABA neurons in the DRN. Although the gerbil retinoraphe projection is robust compared to that described for other species the number of CTB-labeled retinal processes observed in the DRN is relatively low 19 . It is very likely however, that retinal processes in the DRN are under-represented when CTB is used as an anterograde tracer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…In addition to the many glutamatergic afferents from sites in the forebrain and brainstem, the DRN also receives glutamatergic excitatory input from the retina, although details regarding DRN-projecting retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) have only recently begun to emerge 19 . RGC projections to the DRN have been described in several species including primates but have been examined most extensively in the Mongolian gerbil.…”

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confidence: 99%

ON and OFF retinal ganglion cells differentially regulate serotonergic and GABAergic activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus

Zhang

Huang

Zhang

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), the major source of serotonergic input to the forebrain, receives excitatory input from the retina that can modulate serotonin levels and depressive-like behavior. In the Mongolian gerbil, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) with alpha-like morphological and Y-like physiological properties innervate the DRN with ON DRN-projecting RGCs out numbering OFF DRN-projecting RGCs. The DRN neurons targeted by ON and OFF RGCs are unknown. To explore retino-raphe anatomical organization, retinal afferents labeled with Cholera toxin B were examined for association with the postsynaptic protein PSD-95. Synaptic associations between retinal afferents and DRN serotonergic and GABAergic neurons were observed. To explore retino-raphe functional organization, light-evoked c-fos expression was examined. Light significantly increased the number of DRN serotonergic and GABAergic cells expressing c-Fos. When ON RGCs were rendered silent while enhancing the firing rate of OFF RGCs, c-Fos expression was greatly increased in DRN serotonergic neurons suggesting that OFF DRN-projecting RGCs predominately activate serotonergic neurons whereas ON DRN-projecting RGCs mainly target GABAergic neurons. Direct glutamatergic retinal input to DRN 5-HT neurons contributes to the complex excitatory drive regulating these cells. Light, via the retinoraphe pathway can modify DRN 5-HT neuron activity which may play a role in modulating affective behavior.

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“…The integrity of such causal influences is likely to underlie adaptive affective processing and states, the disruption of which could constitute the neurobiological basis for affective disorders at a more systematic level than regional abnormalities ( de Almeida et al, 2009 ). Animal studies have identified direct retino-raphe projection modulating serotonergic activity and hence affective behavior ( Ren et al, 2013 , Pickard et al, 2015 ). Research on the existence of such a direct projection in humans may help to explain how the visual environment affects mood and affective states, as seen in seasonal affective disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pontine Region is a Neural Correlate of the Human Affective Processing Network

et al. 2015

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The in vivo neural activity of the pons during the perception of affective stimuli has not been studied despite the strong implications of its role in affective processing. To examine the activity of the pons during the viewing of affective stimuli, and to verify its functional and structural connectivity with other affective neural correlates, a multimodal magnetic resonance imaging methodology was employed in this study. We observed the in vivo activity of the pons when viewing affective stimuli. Furthermore, small-world connectivity indicated that the functional connectivity (FC) between the pons and the cortico-limbic affective regions was meaningful, with the coefficient λ being positively associated with self-reported emotional reactivity. The FC between the pons and the cortico-limbic-striatal areas was related to self-reported negative affect. Corroborating this finding was the observation that the tract passing through the pons and the left hippocampus was negatively related to self-reported positive affect and positively correlated with emotional reactivity. Our findings support the framework that the pons works conjunctively with the distributed cortico-limbic-striatal systems in shaping individuals' affective states and reactivity. Our work paves the path for future research on the contribution of the pons to the precipitation and maintenance of affective disorders.

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Dorsal raphe nucleus projecting retinal ganglion cells: Why Y cells?

Cited by 14 publications

References 181 publications

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

A retinoraphe projection regulates serotonergic activity and looming-evoked defensive behaviour

ON and OFF retinal ganglion cells differentially regulate serotonergic and GABAergic activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus

A Pontine Region is a Neural Correlate of the Human Affective Processing Network

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