Towards an understanding of the role of dopamine in the mammalian retina.

The role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in visual processing in the mammalian retina is not known. We investigated the effects of the dopamine antagonists haloperidol and fluphenazine on the receptive field properties of rabbit ganglion cells. The results that we have obtained so far are limited to brisk cells and on-off directionally selective cells. The dopamine antagonists, in general, decreased the on responses of the cells while not affecting or slightly increasing the off responses. The results are described in relation to the known anatomy and pharmacology of the dopaminergic neurons of the retina.