Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels
Abstract In vertebrate vision, early retinal circuits divide incoming visual information into functionally opposite elementary signals: On and Off, transient and sustained, chromatic and achromatic. Together these signals can yield an efficient representation of the scene for transmission to the bra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41032-z |
| _version_ | 1797558577058021376 |
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| author | Marvin Seifert Paul A. Roberts George Kafetzis Daniel Osorio Tom Baden |
| author_facet | Marvin Seifert Paul A. Roberts George Kafetzis Daniel Osorio Tom Baden |
| author_sort | Marvin Seifert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In vertebrate vision, early retinal circuits divide incoming visual information into functionally opposite elementary signals: On and Off, transient and sustained, chromatic and achromatic. Together these signals can yield an efficient representation of the scene for transmission to the brain via the optic nerve. However, this long-standing interpretation of retinal function is based on mammals, and it is unclear whether this functional arrangement is common to all vertebrates. Here we show that male poultry chicks use a fundamentally different strategy to communicate information from the eye to the brain. Rather than using functionally opposite pairs of retinal output channels, chicks encode the polarity, timing, and spectral composition of visual stimuli in a highly correlated manner: fast achromatic information is encoded by Off-circuits, and slow chromatic information overwhelmingly by On-circuits. Moreover, most retinal output channels combine On- and Off-circuits to simultaneously encode, or multiplex, both achromatic and chromatic information. Our results from birds conform to evidence from fish, amphibians, and reptiles which retain the full ancestral complement of four spectral types of cone photoreceptors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:32:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49295774890942478da39c86c81fc28a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:32:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-49295774890942478da39c86c81fc28a2023-11-20T09:57:42ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-08-0114111910.1038/s41467-023-41032-zBirds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channelsMarvin Seifert0Paul A. Roberts1George Kafetzis2Daniel Osorio3Tom Baden4School of Life Sciences, University of SussexSchool of Life Sciences, University of SussexSchool of Life Sciences, University of SussexSchool of Life Sciences, University of SussexSchool of Life Sciences, University of SussexAbstract In vertebrate vision, early retinal circuits divide incoming visual information into functionally opposite elementary signals: On and Off, transient and sustained, chromatic and achromatic. Together these signals can yield an efficient representation of the scene for transmission to the brain via the optic nerve. However, this long-standing interpretation of retinal function is based on mammals, and it is unclear whether this functional arrangement is common to all vertebrates. Here we show that male poultry chicks use a fundamentally different strategy to communicate information from the eye to the brain. Rather than using functionally opposite pairs of retinal output channels, chicks encode the polarity, timing, and spectral composition of visual stimuli in a highly correlated manner: fast achromatic information is encoded by Off-circuits, and slow chromatic information overwhelmingly by On-circuits. Moreover, most retinal output channels combine On- and Off-circuits to simultaneously encode, or multiplex, both achromatic and chromatic information. Our results from birds conform to evidence from fish, amphibians, and reptiles which retain the full ancestral complement of four spectral types of cone photoreceptors.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41032-z |
| spellingShingle | Marvin Seifert Paul A. Roberts George Kafetzis Daniel Osorio Tom Baden Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels Nature Communications |
| title | Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels |
| title_full | Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels |
| title_fullStr | Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels |
| title_short | Birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal On- and Off-channels |
| title_sort | birds multiplex spectral and temporal visual information via retinal on and off channels |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41032-z |
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