The involvement of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the organization of cat retinal ganglion cell receptive fields. A study with picrotoxin and bicuculline.

The effects of picrotoxin and bicuculline upon the discharge pattern of center-surround organized cat retinal ganglion cells of X and Y type were studied. All experiments were carried out under scotopic or possibly low mesopic conditions; mostly but not exclusively on-center cells were studied. Stimuli were chosen so that responses were either; (a) "purely" central; (b) surround dominated; or (c) clearly mixed but center dominated. In each case a pre-drug control response was estaboished, the drug was administered intravenously, and its subsequent effect upon the response was observed. In Y cells both picrotoxin and bicucullin caused the center-driven component of the response to become somewhat reduced in magnitude, while the surround component was substantially reduced. There was thus a change in center-surround balance in favor of the center-driven component. Responses of X cells remained virtually unaffected by both picrotoxin and bicuculline.