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Anatomy

Photoreceptive net in the mammalian retina

Nature volume 415, page 493 (2002) Cite this article

This mesh of cells may explain how some blind mice can still tell day from night.

Abstract

We have discovered an expansive photoreceptive 'net' in the mouse inner retina, visualized by using an antiserum against melanopsin, a likely photopigment1,2. This immunoreactivity is evident in a subset of retinal ganglion cells that morphologically resemble those that project to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the site of the primary circadian pacemaker3,4. Our results indicate that this bilayered photoreceptive net is anatomically distinct from the rod and cone photoreceptors of the outer retina, and suggest that it may mediate non-visual photoreceptive tasks such as the regulation of circadian rhythms.

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Figure 1: The photoreceptive net in the mouse inner retina.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Figure 2: Cross-section of a mouse retina, with a single melanopsin-positive retinal ganglion cell.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, and the Circadian Research Center, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, 20814, Maryland, USA

    Ignacio Provencio, Mark D. Rollag & Ana Maria Castrucci

Authors
  1. Ignacio Provencio
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  2. Mark D. Rollag
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  3. Ana Maria Castrucci
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ignacio Provencio.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Provencio, I., Rollag, M. & Castrucci, A. Photoreceptive net in the mammalian retina. Nature 415, 493 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/415493a

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