0000000000246160
AUTHOR
Carlos Mora-ferrer
Disentangling composite colour patterns in a poison frog species
A phylogenetic approach was performed to infer whether variation in conspicuous colour-patterns of a poison frog (Dendrobatidae: Dendrobates tinctorius) has evolved neutrally or under selection. Colour and pattern were split into components that were separately analysed and subsequently re-grouped via principal component analysis. This revealed four different ‘displayed’ factors on the dorsal and lateral views versus one ‘concealed’ factor on the ventral view. Based on the assumption that current patterns of trait variation contain information about the evolutionary history of the phenotype, we correlated these trait components to a neutrally evolving gene fragment (cytochrome b). The conce…
Reduction of red-green discrimination by dopamine D1 receptor antagonists and retinal dopamine depletion
AbstractReduction of wavelength discrimination ability in the 560–640 nm range, but not in the 404–540 nm range, has been demonstrated in goldfish after intravitreal injection of D1-dopamine receptor antagonists. Intravitreal injection of the dopaminergic neurotoxin 6-OH-dopamine severely reduced wavelength discrimination ability in the 540–661 nm range within 3 days. Discrimination ability could be reconstituted by the Dl-agonist SKF 38393. Animals recovered from injection of 6-OH-dopamine within 14–16 days. No change of wavelength discrimination was induced by 6-OH-dopamine in the 461–540 nm range. We conclude that under photopic conditions dopamine modulates retinal mechanisms involved i…
Dopamine antagonists impair ‘red-green’ discrimination in goldfish after intravitreal injection
Color vision in goldfish is tetrachromatic. However, under mesopic illumination conditions the L-cones do not contribute to wavelength discrimination, and color vision becomes trichromatic. To investigate the role of dopamine in light adaptation, we tested the effect of the unspecific dopamine antagonist haloperidol and of the specific dopamine Dl receptor antagonists SCH 23390 and SKF 83566-biotinyl in behavioral wavelength discrimination experiments. After injection of dopamine antagonists into the vitreous, a reduction in wavelength discrimination was observed in the range between 560 nm and 630 nm but not in the range between 404 nm and 501 nm.
Neuropharmacology of vision in goldfish: A review
AbstractThe goldfish is one of the few animals exceptionally well analyzed in behavioral experiments and also in electrophysiological and neuroanatomical investigations of the retina. To get insight into the functional organization of the retina we studied color vision, motion detection and temporal resolution before and after intra-ocular injection of neuropharmaca with known effects on retinal neurons. Bicuculline, strychnine, curare, atropine, and dopamine D1- and D2-receptor antagonists were used. The results reviewed here indicate separate and parallel processing of L-cone contribution to different visual functions, and the influence of several neurotransmitters (dopamine, acetylcholin…
D2-dopamine receptor blockade modulates temporal resolution in goldfish.
A possible effect of dopamine on the temporal resolution of goldfish was investigated in a behavioral, two-alternative, forced-choice procedure. Flicker fusion frequency (FFF) was measured before and after bilateral intravitreal injections of D1- or D2-dopamine receptor (D1-/D2-R) antagonists, or after depletion of retinal dopamine by bilateral intravitreal injections of the dopaminergic neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Prior to drug injections, fish achieved FFFs of 33–39 Hz. A D1-R antagonist, SCH 23390, reduced FFF by about 12% (P > 0.1), whereas a D2 antagonist, sulpiride, reduced the relative FFF by 25% (P < 0.03). Depletion of retinal dopamine with 6-OHDA induced a gradual…
Temporal resolution and temporal transfer properties: gabaergic and cholinergic mechanisms.
Temporal resolution is a basic property of the visual system and critically depends upon retinal temporal coding properties which are also of importance for directional coding. Whether the temporal coding properties for directional coding derive form inherent properties or critically depend upon the temporal coding mechanisms is unclear. Here, the influence of acetylcholine and GABA upon photopic temporal coding was investigated in goldfish, using flicker stimuli, in a behavioral and an electrophysiological (ERG) approach. The goldfish temporal resolution ability decreased from more than 90% correct choices at 20 Hz flicker frequency to about 65% at 45 Hz flicker frequency with a flicker fu…