Summary
Light thresholds of retinal and extraretinal photoreceptors in catfish were examined by the photobehavioral response using a method in which reflex body movements are recorded. Thresholds were determined in six groups, (A) intact, (B) ophthalmectomized, (C) pinealectomized, (D) ophthalmectomized + pinealectomized, (E) ophthalmectomized, pinealectomized and skinless over the brain (skinless fish) and (F) ophthalmectomized, pinealectomized and dorsally covered with aluminum foil over the brain (covered fish). All these fishes displayed short term activity to white light stimulation after being dark adapted for more than 5 h. The lowest threshold was obtained in the intact group (2.0×10−4 μW/cm2). The thresholds of lateral eyes and the pineal organ were 3.4×10−3 and 1.5×10−2 μW/cm2, respectively. Without lateral eyes and pineal organ, catfish still responded to light, indicating the possible existence of extraretinal nonpineal photoreceptors (ENPs). The threshold of ENPs was 3.3 μW/cm2. The localization of ENPs was assumed to be in the brain from the experiment with the combination of skinless and covered fish.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ENP :
-
extraretinal nonpineal photoreceptor
References
Dodt E (1963) Photosensitivity in the teleost,Salmo irideus (Gibbons). Experientia 19:642–643
Ekström P (1984) Central neural connections of the pineal organ and retina in the teleost,Gasterosteus aculeatus L. J Comp Neurol 226:321–335
Eriksson LO (1972) Die Jahresperiodik augen- und pinealorganloser Bachsaiblinge,Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchell. Aquilo Ser Zool 13:8–12
Frisch K von (1911) Beiträge zur Physiologie der Pigmentzellen in der Fischhaut. Pflügers Arch 138:319–387
Hafeez MA, Quay WB (1970) The role of the pineal organs in the control of phototaxis and body coloration in the rainbow trout,Salmo gairdneri Richardson. Z Vergl Physiol 68:403–416
Hanyu I, Niwa H, Tamura T (1969) A slow potential from the epiphysis cerebri of fishes. Vision Res 9:621–623
Harden-Jones FR (1955) Photokinesis in the ammocoete larvae of the lamprey. J Exp Zool 32:492–503
Hartwig HG, Oksche A (1982) Neurobiological aspects of extraretinal photoreceptive systems: Structure and function. Experientia 38:991–996
Hartwig HG, Veen TH van (1979) Spectral characteristics of visible radiation penetrating into the brain and stimulating extraretinal photoreceptors. J Comp Physiol 130:277–282
Kavaliers M (1980) Retinal and extraretinal entrainment action spectra for the activity rhythms of the lake chub,Couesius plumbeus. Behav Neural Biol 30:56–67
Matsuura T, Herwig HJ (1981) Histochemical and ultrastructural study of the nervous elements in the pineal organ of the eel,Anguilla anguilla. Cell Tissue Res 216:545–555
Meissl H, Dodt E (1981) Comparative physiology of pineal photoreceptor organs. In: Oksche A, Pévet P (eds) The pineal organ: photobiology — biochronometery — endocrinology. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, pp 61–80
Morita Y (1966) Entladungsmuster pinealer Neurone der Regenbogenforelle (Salmo irideus) bei Belichtung des Zwischenhirns. Pflügers Arch 289:155–167
Motte I de la (1964) Untersuchungen zur vergleichenden Physiologie der Lichtempfindlichkeit geblendeter Fische. Z Vergl Physiol 49:58–90
Newth DR, Ross DM (1955) On the reaction to light ofMyxine glutinosa L. J Exp Biol 32:4–21
Oksche A, Hartwig HG (1975) Photoneuroendocrine systems and the third ventricle. In: Knigge KM, Scott DE, Kobayashi H, Ishii S (eds) Brain-endocrine interaction. II: The ventricular system. 2nd Int Symp Shizuoka 1974. Karger, Basel, pp 40–53
Oksche A, Hartwig HG (1979) Pineal sense organs — components of photoneuroendocrine systems. Progr Brain Res 52:113–130
Oksche A, Kirschstein H (1967) Die Ultrastruktur der Sinneszellen im Pinealorgan vonPhoxinus laevis L. Z Zellforsch 78:151–166
Omura Y, Oguri M (1969) Histological studies on the pineal organ of 15 species of teleosts. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 35:991–1000
Rüdeberg C (1968) Structure of the pineal organ of the sardine,Sardina pilchardus sardina (Risso), and some further remarks on the pineal organ ofMugil spp. Z Zellforsch 84:219–237
Scharrer E (1928) Die Lichtempfindlichkeit blinder Elritzen (Untersuchungen über das Zwischenhirn der Fische). Z Vergl Physiol 7:1–38
Steven DM (1963) The dermal light sense. Biol Rev 38:204–240
Tabata M, Minh-Nyo M (in press) Dual photobehavioral response in catfish. Zool Sci 6
Tabata M, Tamura T, Niwa H (1975) Origin of the slow potential in the pineal organ of the rainbow trout. Vision Res 15:737–740
Tabata M, Suzuki T, Niwa H (1985) Chromophores in the extraretinal photoreceptor (pineal organ) of teleosts. Brain Res 338:173–176
Tabata M, Minh-Nyo M, Oguri M (1988) Involvement of retinal and extraretinal photoreceptors in the mediation of nocturnal locomotor activity rhythms in the catfish,Silurus asotus. Exp Biol 47:219–225
Underwood H (1979) Extraretinal photoreception. In: Burtt EH (ed) The behavioural significance of color. Garland Press, New York, pp 127–178
Veen Th van (1981) A study on the basis for Zeitgeber entrainment with special reference to extra-retinal photoreception in the eel. Thesis, Department of Zoology, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden
Veen Th van, Hartwig HG, Müller K (1976) Light-dependent motor activity and photonegative behavior in the eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Evidence for extraretinal and extrapineal photoreception. J Comp Physiol 111:209–219
Vigh-Teichmann I, Korf HW, Oksche A, Vigh B (1982) Opsinimmunoreactive outer segments and acetylcholinesterasepositive neurons in the pineal complex ofPhoxinus phoxinus (Teleostei, Cyprinidae). Cell Tissue Res 227:351–369
Vigh-Teichmann I, Korf HW, Nürnberger F, Oksche A, Vigh B, Olsson R (1983) Opsin-immunoreactive outer segments in the pineal and parapineal organs of the lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis), the eel (Anguilla anguilla), and the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Cell Tissue Res 230:289–307
Wales W (1975) Extraretinal photosensitivity in fish larvae. In: Ali MA (ed) Vision in fishes. Plenum, New York, pp 445–450
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tabata, M., Minh-Nyo, M. & Oguri, M. Thresholds of retinal and extraretinal photoreceptors measured by photobehavioral response in catfish,Silurus asotus . J. Comp. Physiol. 164, 797–803 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00616751
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00616751