Multielectrode array recordings reveal physiological diversity of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the chick embryo

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) play important roles in non-image forming photoreception and participate in the regulation of the circadian rhythm and the pupillary light reflex. The aim of the present work was to characterize the light response of ipRGCs at two developmental stages of the embryonic chick. The electrophysiological study was based on comparative multielectrode array recordings from acute retinal slices. To ensure that light was the only source of excitation, intercellular activity modulation by gap junctions and chemical synapses was inhibited by carbenoxolone and bafilomycin A1, respectively. Action potentials evoked by blue light were detected as early as day 13 of embryonic development, which is notably earlier than the completion of the maturation process of functional rods and cones. Three different response types were distinguished by their response latency and sensitivity to different illumination intensities. At this point it is not clear whether these types just represent different maturation stages or have different morphologies and functions with respect to the non-image forming visual system and circadian entrainment.