Difference between revisions of "Starburst Amacrine Cell"

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[[Image:2007structure1.png|thumb|right|350px|Image of a starburst amacrine cell showing the spread of the dendritic arbor. From REFERENCE 2007.]]
 
[[Image:2007structure1.png|thumb|right|350px|Image of a starburst amacrine cell showing the spread of the dendritic arbor. From REFERENCE 2007.]]
  
'''Starburst Amacrine Cells''', also referred to as SAC, SBAC, or cholinergic neurons, are a specific subset of amacrine cells present in the retina.  
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'''Starburst amacrine cells''', also referred to as SAC, SBAC, or cholinergic neurons, are a specific subset of amacrine cells present in the retina. Generally speaking, amacrine cells function by affecting the output from bipolar cells. Each of the ~40 subtypes of amacrine cells connects with a particular type of bipolar cell and typically each subtype secretes a particular neurotransmitter. Starburst amacrine cells are noteworthy for being the only cells in the retina to secrete two different kinds of neurotransmitter, the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and acetylcholine (ACh). <ref>O’Malley, D. M., Sandell, J. H. & Masland, R. H. Co-release of acetylcholine and GABA by the starburst amacrine cells. J. Neurosci. 12, 1394–1408 (1992).</ref>
 
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'''Amacrine cells''' operate at the inner plexiform layer (IPL), the second synaptic retinal layer where bipolar cells and retinal ganglion cells form synapses. There are about 40 different types of amacrine cells, most lacking axons. Like horizontal cells, amacrine cells work laterally affecting the output from bipolar cells, however, their tasks are often more specialized. Each type of amacrine cell connects with a particular type of bipolar cell, and generally has a particular type of neurotransmitter. One such population, AII, 'piggybacks' rod bipolar cells onto the cone bipolar circuitry. It connects rod bipolar cell output with cone bipolar cell input, and from there the signal can travel to the respective ganglion cells. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amacrine_cell)
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Revision as of 12:29, 27 March 2012

File:2007structure1.png
Image of a starburst amacrine cell showing the spread of the dendritic arbor. From REFERENCE 2007.

Starburst amacrine cells, also referred to as SAC, SBAC, or cholinergic neurons, are a specific subset of amacrine cells present in the retina. Generally speaking, amacrine cells function by affecting the output from bipolar cells. Each of the ~40 subtypes of amacrine cells connects with a particular type of bipolar cell and typically each subtype secretes a particular neurotransmitter. Starburst amacrine cells are noteworthy for being the only cells in the retina to secrete two different kinds of neurotransmitter, the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and acetylcholine (ACh). [1]


Physiology

Visual response properties

Cellular biophysics

Anatomy

Location

Shape

Connections

Molecules

History

In 1976, it was first discovered that there were cells in the rabbit retina that secreted acetylcholine. The most likely candidates were bipolar cells and amacrine cells. Later that same year, it was shown that ganglion cells formed the postsynaptic component of that connection.

[2]

Open Questions

References

</references>
  1. O’Malley, D. M., Sandell, J. H. & Masland, R. H. Co-release of acetylcholine and GABA by the starburst amacrine cells. J. Neurosci. 12, 1394–1408 (1992).
  2. reference 1976