Human and macaque pupil responses driven by melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells
Open accessAbstract
Melanopsin, a novel photopigment, has recently been localized to a population of retinal ganglion cells that display inherent photosensitivity. During continuous light and following light offset, primates are known to exhibit sustained pupilloconstriction responses that resemble closely the photoresponses of intrinsically-photoreceptive ganglion cells. We report that, in the behaving macaque, following pharmacological blockade of conventional photoreceptor signals, significant pupillary responses persist during continuous light and following light offset. These pupil responses display the unique spectral tuning, slow kinetics, and irradiance coding of the sustained, melanopsin-derived ganglion cell photoresponses. We extended our observations to humans by using the sustained pupil response following light offset to document the contribution of these novel ganglion cells to human pupillary responses. Our results indicate that the intrinsic photoresponses of intrinsically-photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells play an important role in the pupillary light reflex and are primarily responsible for the sustained pupilloconstriction that occurs following light offset.
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Photoreceptor cells containing melanopsin play a role in the phase-shifting effects of short-wavelength light.
“Photoreceptor cells containing melanopsin play a role in the phase-shifting effects of short-wavelength light.”
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“This new photoreceptor plays a major role in regulating the biological clock [5,7] and is also involved in pupillary constriction [8].”
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- Authors
- Gamlin, P. D. R., McDougal, D. H., Pokorny, J., Smith, V. C., Yau, K.-W., & Dacey, D. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gamlin, Paul D.R.
- Venue
- Vision Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-03
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 946-954
- ISSN
- 0042-6989 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC1945238
- OpenAlex
- W2123311935
- Cited by
- 617
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 9.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Vision Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- EyeSight Foundation of Alabama
- National Institutes of Health (EY14596)
- National Eye Institute (EY-09380, R01EY006678, EY14596, R37EY006837, R01EY000901, EY06678, #EY09625, R01EY009625, F32EY006837, EY-06837, R01EY009380, EY00901, R01EY014596, P30EY003039, R01EY006837)
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01DC006904)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinal Development and Disorders
- Keywords
- melanopsin, pupillary light reflex, macaque, human, photopigments, spectral tuning
- MeSH terms
- Melanopsin, Animals, Electroretinography, Humans, Light, Macaca mulatta, Reflex, Pupillary, Retinal Ganglion Cells, Rod Opsins, Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells, Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells, Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate, Light Signal Transduction
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