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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1983 May;80(10):3069–3073. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.10.3069

Electroanatomy of a unique amacrine cell in the rabbit retina.

R F Miller, S A Bloomfield
PMCID: PMC393975  PMID: 6574470

Abstract

Intracellular electrophysiological recordings were obtained from a specialized class of "starburst" amacrine cells by using an isolated superperfused retina-eyecup preparation of the rabbit. These cells were injected intracellularly with horseradish peroxidase and identified with light microscopy. A computer-controlled image-processing system was used to map and display the three-dimensional dendritic organization and provide information on length and sublaminar distribution of dendritic processes. Starburst amacrines show an unusual dendritic architecture that includes thin intermediate dendritic segments. Analysis with steady-state cable equations suggests that these thin segments may provide electrical isolation of distal processes, raising the possibility that a single dendrite, which lies beyond the thin segment, may constitute a functional subunit of the cell.

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Selected References

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