Transient responses of rabbit retinal ganglion cells to photic and electrical stimuli.

The relationships between the center and the surround of the receptive field of the rabbit retinal ganglion cell were investigated. This was done by coupling localized light spots and electrical activation of the retina and by analyzing the time of the excitatory and inhibitory periods. The responsiveness to the electrical transretinal pulse revealed a) that ON stimulation in OFF-center cells and OFF stimulation in ON-center cells, elicited a primary period of inhibition with a short latency; b) the long latency response of surround stimulation was not preceded by an inhibitory period unless the center was simultaneously stimulated in the same direction; c) a transient response to a stationary spot of light is followed by a period of inhibition. These results are discussed in relation to the known cellular retinal networks.