Rod photoreceptor activation alone defines the release of dopamine in the retina

Retinal dopamine is released by a specialized subset of amacrine cells in response to light and has a potent influence on how the retina responds to, and encodes, visual information. Here, we address the critical question of which retinal photoreceptor is responsible for coordinating the release of this neuromodulator. Although all three photoreceptor classes—rods, cones, and melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs)—have been shown to provide electrophysiological inputs to dopaminergic amacrine cells (DACs), we show here that the release of dopamine is defined only by rod photoreceptors. Remarkably, this rod signal coordinates both a suppressive signal at low intensities and drives dopamine release at very bright light intensities. These data further reveal that dopamine release does not necessarily correlate with electrophysiological activity of DACs and add to a growing body of evidence that rods define aspects of retinal function at very bright light levels. Pérez-Fernández et al. find that light-induced dopamine release in the mouse retina is defined by rod photoreceptor activation. Stimulation under dim to mesopic light intensities causes dopamine release to be suppressed, and bright photopic light intensities cause extensive dopamine release