On the Origin and the Signal-Shaping Mechanism of the Fast Photosignal in the Vertebrate Retina

Fast photosignals (FPS) with R1 and R2 components were measured in retinas of cattle, rat, and frog within a temperature range of 0° to 60°C. Except for temperatures near 0°C the signal rise of the R1 component was determined by the duration of the exciting flash. The kinetics of the R2 component and the meta transition of rhodopsin in the cattle and rat retina were compared. For the analysis of the FPS it is presupposed that the signal is produced by light-induced charges on the outer segment envelope membrane that spread onto the whole plasma membrane of the photoreceptor cell. To a good approximation, this mechanism can be described by a model circuit with two distinct capacitors. In this model, the charging capacitance of the pigmented outer segment envelope membrane and the capacitance of the receptor's nonpigmented plasma membrane are connected via the extra- and intracellular electrolyte resistances. The active charging is explained by two independent processes, both with exponential rise (R1 and R2), that are due to charge displacements within the pigmented envelope membrane. The time constant τ2 of the R2 membrane charging process shows a strong temperature dependence that of the charge redistribution, τr, a weak one. In frog and cattle retinas the active charging is much slower within a large temperature range than the passive charge redistribution. From the two-capacitor model it follows for τr « τ2 that the rise of the R2 component is determined by τr, whereas the decay is given by τ2. For the rat retina, however, τ2 approaches τr at physiological temperatures and becomes