Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E F MacNichol.
Triple cones were found in the retinas of 3 species of fishes indigenous to the Woods Hole area. The function of these triple cones can not be deduced from the behavior patterns of these fishes.
Thick sections of tissue, (20 micron--60 micron), are useful in studying the relationship between individual large cells and cell layers in organized neural structures. The ability of the Nomarski Differential Interference-Contrast Microscope to bring a single thin layer into sharp focus makes the examination of such sections feasible. Although celloidin is the classical embedding medium for large, thick sections of neural tissue, the time necessary for this preparation is most inconvenient. Epon is an excellent embedding medium; however, it is extremely hard and brittle. By heating the Epon block face, thick sections can be cut. To avoid the cumbersome, often detrimental use of heat, a modification of this technique was found. Epon blocks, trimmed to a 1 millimeter square face, may be sectioned at room temperature on the sliding microtome at 20 micron to 60 micron with ease. The simple method of preparing such sections is described.
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Ellipsosomes are dense spherical bodies containing a very large concentration of a heme pigment spectroscopically resembling pure cytochrome c. They are located at the outer ends of the inner segments of the cones of certain fishes. Although, superficially, they resemble the similarly located oil droplets in the cones of birds and reptiles, their ultrastructure and staining properties resemble those of the neighboring mitochondria. However, like the oil droplets, they may serve as intracellular color filters.
It was found that a glutaraldehyde-formalin-phosphate buffered fixative could preserve retinal tissue for light microscopy, even if the tissue remained in the fixative for a month. Retinal tissue that previously was difficult and expensive to procure could now be obtained.
Freshly isolated retinal photoreceptors of goldfish were studied microspectrophotometrically. Absolute absorptance spectra obtained from dark-adapted cone outer segments reaffirm the existence of three spectrally distinct cone types with absorption maxima at 455 +/- 3,530 +/- 3, and 625 +/- 5 nm. These types were found often recognizable by gross cellular morphology. Side-illuminated cone outer segments were dichroic. The measured dichroic ratio for the main absorption band of each type was 2-3:1. Rapidly bleached cells revealed spectral and dichroic transitions in regions near 400-410, 435-455, and 350-360 nm. These photoproducts decay about fivefold as fast as the intermediates in frog rods. The spectral maxima of photoproducts, combined with other evidence, indicate that retinene(2) is the chromophore of all three cone pigments. The average specific optical density for goldfish cone outer segments was found to be 0.0124 +/- 0.0015/microm. The spectra of the blue-, and green-absorbing cones appeared to match porphyropsin standards with half-band width Deltanu = 4,832 +/- 100 cm(-1). The red-absorbing spectrum was found narrower, having Deltanu = 3,625 +/- 100 cm(-1). The results are consistent with the notion that visual pigment concentration within the outer segments is about the same for frog rods and goldfish cones, but that the blue-, and green-absorbing pigments possess molar extinctions of 30,000 liter/mol cm. The red-absorbing pigment was found to have extinction of 40,000 liter/mol cm, assuming invariance of oscillator strength among the three cone spectra.
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Spikes were recorded from single axons in the siphonal nerve of the hardshell clam Mercenaria mercenaria which respond to dimming of light. No axons were found to respond to the onset, or increase, of illumination. In a dark-adapted state there is little or no ongoing spike activity. The responsive area of a single axon is a circle of approximately 85 microm diameter on the inner siphon wall. The number of spikes elicited at the off of constant-duration flashes grows as approximately the 0.4 power of flash intensity. For constant intensity and constant light-time fraction, the off-response increases with increasing duration at least up to 500 s duration. For long durations, the response grows as the logarithm of stimulus duration. Subthreshold light can suppress the off-response from preceding illumination. In a light-adapted state, the off-response is greater and its latency shorter than in the dark-adapted state. The fine structure of groups of cell processes thought to comprise the photoreceptor in Mercenaria is described. On the basis of morphological and physiological findings it is suggested that phototransduction occurs in the fine distal processes of the axons from which we have recorded. Axonal processes were found to contain well organized pentalaminar whorls which may be the site of photo-pigment concentration. The action spectrum obtained from the integrated responses of nerve bundles appears to be that of a single Dartnall pigment having maximal absorption at about 510 nm.
Glutamate and aspartate completely suppress the activity of horizontal cells but only partially affect the response of receptor cells to light. The changes observed in the receptor responses are consistent with the interruption of a synaptically mediated process rather than with a direct action on the receptor membrane.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Behavioural tests have demonstrated that cephalopods can discriminate light polarized in different planes, and the receptors have been localized by electrophysiological studies of the eye. Discrimination of the plane of polarization is a consequence of both the structure of the microvilli in the outer segments of the photoreceptors and the orientation of the photosensitive chromophore on these membranes. However, between the depolarizing receptor response resulting from photoreception and the behaviour of the animal, nothing is known about neuronal processing of polarized light by cephalopods. Here we show that some squid photoreceptors discriminate the plane of polarization within the spike train, and that any particular plane is seen as a variable intensity. Given the well known orthogonal orientation of microvilli in outer segments of adjacent photoreceptors and the physiological preference for one of two mutually perpendicular planes of polarization by single photoreceptors, we conclude that cephalopod vision is based on two complementary views of the world, each determined by the transformation of polarization-sensitive receptors into complementary intensity scales. A visual system based on this transformation would lead to enhanced contrast underwater and visualization of object details obscured by confounding highlights.