![]() Gap junctions between rods and cones allow them to communicate for example, they enable rod signals to directly activate cones. focused on nerve cells in the mouse retina, in particular the cones (which detect color during the day) and the rods (which are essential for night vision). Gap junctions are small, difficult to observe, and therefore often ignored by researchers studying neural circuits. In most neurons, gap junction channels are made from a specialized protein called connexin 36. This latter process is made possible by gap junctions, a system of channel-like structures which connect neighbouring cells and let ions move between them. Neurons can talk to each other in two ways: they can send chemical messengers across specialized junctions between two cells, or they can directly pass electrical signals to one another. This is comparable to the maximum conductance previously measured between rod/cone pairs in the presence of a dopamine antagonist to activate Cx36, suggesting that the open probability of gap junction channels can approach 100% under certain conditions. We estimate a mean of 86 Cx36 channels per rod/cone pair, which may provide a maximum conductance of ~1200 pS, if all gap junction channels were open. ![]() Thus, rod/cone coupling accounts for nearly all gap junctions between photoreceptors. We were unable to detect rod/rod or cone/cone coupling. An exuberant spray of fine telodendria extends from each cone pedicle (including blue cones) to contact 40–50 nearby rod spherules at sites of Cx36 labeling, with approximately 50 Cx36 clusters per cone pedicle and 2–3 per rod spherule. Here, we reconstruct gap junctions between photoreceptors in the mouse retina using serial blockface-scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy for the gap junction protein Cx36. However, because they are small and especially difficult to image, gap junctions are often ignored in large-scale 3D reconstructions. In addition, gap junctions may also provide alternative neuronal pathways. ![]() Electrical coupling, mediated by gap junctions, contributes to signal averaging, synchronization, and noise reduction in neuronal circuits. ![]()
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