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Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells: Assessment of Their Influence on Pupillary Responses in Primates

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Circadian Clocks

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 186))

Abstract

Pupillary responses in primates are driven by melanopsin-containing, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) that project to the pretectum. These cells also project to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to photically entrain circadian rhythms. Given the similarity of the ipRGCs that project to the pretectum and SCN, the study of light-evoked pupillary responses that reflect the activity of these pretectally projecting ipRGCs should provide substantial insights into the ipRGC signals that impinge on the SCN. Here, we describe studies of light-evoked pupillary responses in macaques and humans including the increasingly studied post-illumination pupil response (PIPR). We describe the best practices for conducting these types of experiments and for analyzing the acquired data. We also provide advice about potential pitfalls and confounding variables that can affect the outcome and interpretation of these types of experiments.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, EY025555 and P30 EY03039. Also supported by Research to Prevent Blindness and the Eyesight Foundation of Alabama. I also thank David McDougal for the use of an unpublished figure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Paul D. Gamlin

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  1. Paul D. Gamlin
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Correspondence to Paul D. Gamlin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Tsuyoshi Hirota

  2. Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Megumi Hatori

  3. Regulatory Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Satchidananda Panda

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Gamlin, P.D. (2022). Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells: Assessment of Their Influence on Pupillary Responses in Primates. In: Hirota, T., Hatori, M., Panda, S. (eds) Circadian Clocks. Neuromethods, vol 186. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2577-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2577-4_7

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2576-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2577-4

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