Contribution of parasol-magnocellular pathway ganglion cells to foveal retina in macaque monkey

Parasol-magnocellular pathway ganglion cells form an important output stream of the primate retina and make a major contribution to visual motion detection. They are known to comprise ON and OFF type response polarities but the relative numbers of ON and OFF parasol cells, and the overall contribution of parasol cells to high-acuity foveal vision are not well understood. Here we use antibodies against carbonic anhydrase 8 (CA8) and intra-cellular injections of the liphilic dye DiI to show that CA8 selectively labels OFF parasol cells in macaque retina. By combined labeling with CA8 antibodies and a previously-described marker for parasol cells (GABAA receptor antibodies), we show that ON and OFF parasol cells each comprise -6% of all ganglion cells in central retina (each peak density -3000 cells/mm2 at 5 deg.), and each population comprises -10% of all ganglion cells in peripheral temporal retina. Thus, the spatial density of parasol cells in central retina is greater than reported by previous anatomical studies, and the central-peripheral gradient in parasol cell density is shallower than pre-viously reported. The data nevertheless predict decline in spatial acuity with visual field eccentricity for both midget-parvocellular pathway and parasol-magnocellular pathway mediated visual functions. The spatial resolving power of the OFF parasol array (peak -7 cpd) falls short of macaque behavioral grating acuity by at least a factor of three throughout the retina.

Automated summary

Parasol-magnocellular pathway ganglion cells play an important role in visual motion detection, but their relative numbers and contribution to high-acuity vision were not well understood. This study used antibodies and dye injections to show that OFF parasol cells are selectively labeled in macaque retina. The density of parasol cells in central retina is greater than previously reported, and the central-peripheral gradient is shallower. The findings suggest a decline in spatial acuity with visual field eccentricity.