Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 716, Issues 1–2, 15 April 1996, Pages 213-218
Brain Research

Short communication
Fos expression in rat visual cortex induced by ocular input of ultraviolet light

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(96)00025-XGet rights and content

Abstract

We used immunostaining for the cellular transcription factor Fos to assess patterns of neuronal activation in rat visual cortex during exposure to ultraviolet light. Exposure to monochromatic ultraviolet light (λmax 360 nm; half-bandwidth 8.8 nm, 10 μW/cm2 at eye level) induced strong expression of Fos immunoreactivity in the primary visual cortex and associated cortical visual areas of dark-adapted rats. The stimulatory effect of ultraviolet light on Fos expression was related to exposure duration, was independent of stimulus novelty or phase of the circadian cycle in which exposure occurred, and it was mediated by a mechanism located in the eye. These results demonstrate that ocular input of ultraviolet light is capable of altering neuronal activity in cortical structures involved in visual processing and are consistent with the hypothesis that rodents may use ultraviolet light for vision.

References (26)

Cited by (23)

  • Permanent genetic access to transiently active neurons via TRAP: Targeted recombination in active populations

    2013, Neuron
    Citation Excerpt :

    Thus, even short (5 min) stimuli are sufficient for TRAPing, although longer duration stimuli increase the total numbers of TRAPed cells. These results are consistent with prior findings that the induction of Fos protein in V1 is dependent on stimulus duration (Amir and Robinson, 1996). The time course of effector expression after TRAPing determines the earliest time point at which subsequent experimental manipulations are possible.

  • Immunohistochemical evidence of cone-based ultraviolet vision in divergent bat species and implications for its evolution

    2012, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - B Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    Citation Excerpt :

    Following Amir and Robinson (1996), here we chose a Fos-like immunostaining method to elucidate the capacity of UV vision in bats because c-Fos, as one component of immediate early genes, can be detected immunohistochemically in the nucleus of the neurons after both physiological and pathological stimuli and has been successfully used in vision studies in numerous species (Poveda and Kretz, 2009). In particular, Fos-like immunostaining has been used to assess patterns of neuronal activation in the visual cortex during exposure to UV light (Amir and Robinson, 1996; Marchant and Morin, 2001). The stimulatory effect of UV light on Fos expression was also related to exposure duration, independent of stimulus novelty or phase of the circadian cycle, consistent with a visual mechanism that is slow-adapting and capable of integrating photic information over time (Amir and Robinson, 1996).

  • Novel, continuous visual motion induces c-fos expression in the avian optokinetic nuclei and optic tectum

    2009, Neuroscience
    Citation Excerpt :

    In most visual system c-fos studies, stimulation times are usually 1 h. One example in which much shorter stimulation time has been demonstrated to be sufficient to induce considerable amounts of c-fos staining in the visual system is the study reported by Amir and Robinson (1996), in which 30 s of eye exposure to UV light was enough to induce c-fos expression in the visual cortex of the rat. In other systems, however, shorter stimulation times do result in substantial c-fos expression, provided that enough time is allowed for the protein to build up.

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text