Reciprocity between light intensity and rhodopsin concentration across the rat retina

If a purpose of photostasis - absorption of a constant number of photons by the retina, regardless of incident light levels - is to maintain rods at saturation during the light period, then in retinal regions where light intensity is low, rhodopsin concentration should be high, and vice versa. Our o...

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Published inThe Journal of physiology Vol. 516; no. 3; pp. 869 - 874
Main Authors Williams, T. P., Squitieri, A., Henderson, R. P., Webbers, J. P. P.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK The Physiological Society 01.05.1999
Blackwell Science Ltd
Blackwell Science Inc
Subjects
Animals
Female
In Vitro Techniques
Light
Male
Original
Photometry
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Retina - metabolism
Retina - radiation effects
Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells - physiology
Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells - radiation effects
Rhodopsin - metabolism
Rhodopsin - radiation effects
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Summary:If a purpose of photostasis - absorption of a constant number of photons by the retina, regardless of incident light levels - is to maintain rods at saturation during the light period, then in retinal regions where light intensity is low, rhodopsin concentration should be high, and vice versa. Our ocular transmission photometric measurements revealed that the distribution of light intensity across the rat retina was not as simple as had been thought and, furthermore, that the local concentration of rhodopsin had a high negative correlation with the light intensity. The reciprocity between these two parameters leads to nearly uniform rates of photon absorption in rods across the retina.
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ISSN:0022-3751
1469-7793
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7793.1999.0869u.x