The effect of lead on photoreceptor response amplitude--influence of the light stimulus.

The mass receptor potential of the excised, superfused retina of the bullfrog was studied. Photoreceptor responses were isolated by addition of sodium aspartate to the Ringer solutions. Responses of the cones were monitored independently from responses of the rods by employing a two-flash method of stimulation which took advantage of the very different rates of rapid dark adaptation of rods and of cones. Stimulation with paired flashes of white light at regular intervals caused enhancement of rod response amplitude in that the response grew larger with subsequent flashes until reaching a stable plateau. The degree of enhancement was directly proportional to the amount of light exposure and increased with either increasing stimulus intensity or decreasing stimulus interval. Only the rod response was affected; the cone response was not enhanced by continued stimulation. The effects of 12.5 microM PbCl2 on rod response amplitude were complex. There was a small (less than 10%) but consistent depression of rod response amplitude even when the rods were in the unenhanced state. However, the most striking effect of lead was on the enhanced response, where treatment with 12.5 microM PbCl2 led to a depression of about 33%. When added prior to light stimulation, lead significantly decreased the degree to which the rod response could be enhanced, but never prevented enhancement entirely. Removal of lead resulted in a very large increase in the degree to which the rod response was enhanced by light, even when compared to the first, lead-free control. The cone response was unaffected by 12.5 microM PbCl2.