Modulation of crayfish retinal sensitivity by 5-hydroxytryptamine.

The responsiveness of crayfish retinal photoreceptors to light was enhanced by exposure to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), either following injection into whole animals or following topical application to isolated eyestalks or retinas. The effect was measured as an increment in the amplitude of the receptor potential, and was dose-dependent in the range 10(-6)-10(-3) mol l-1 (injected as a 0.1 microliter dose in intact animals). It was more pronounced at low levels of illumination and was reversibly blocked by methysergide. The enhancement was a consequence of a dual effect: (a) retraction of the proximal pigment granules within the photoreceptors, with a corresponding increase in the light-admittance function of the retina; and (b) a direct effect, facilitating a membrane conductance increase which mediated the generation of the receptor potential. A set of axons in the lamina ganglionaris with a 5-HT-like immunoreactivity was found in the vicinity of the photoreceptor axons. 5-HT antagonists were capable of blocking the physiological retraction of pigment granules in photoreceptors at night, suggesting that 5-HT acts as a modulator during the nocturnal phase of the circadian cycle in the crayfish retina.