Summary
Intracellular responses to illumination have been recorded separately from the retinula cells and from their axons in the compound eyes of the giant water bug Lethocerus. The basic response in both places consists of an initial transient depolarisation followed by a plateau (Fig. 2). No action potentials were seen in either axons or retinula cells.
The responses are graded according to the intensity of the stimulus, to its position within the visual field of the cells and to the plane of polarization of the light (Figs. 3, 4). The angle of acceptance (dark-adapted eyes) measured in either retinula cells or axons is 9°. Similarly, the average value of the sensitivity ratio to light polarised at orthogonal planes is 3∶1 in both places.
Experiments designed to reveal a presumed spike initiation region of the cells by reducing damage to the eye failed to reveal impulses. It is concluded that the receptor potential spreads electrotonically in the axon to the first synaptic region which lies up to 2 mm away. The values of membrane constants which would be required for conduction without severe decrement over such a distance are within the range measured in other systems.
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Ioannides, A.C., Walcott, B. Graded illumination potentials from retinula cell axons in the bug Lethocerus . Z. Vergl. Physiol. 71, 315–325 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00298143
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00298143