Photoreceptors are electrically coupled to one another, and the spatiotemporal properties of electrical synapses in a two-dimensional retinal network are still not well studied, because of the limitation of the single electrode or pair recording techniques which do not allow simultaneously measuring responses of multiple photoreceptors at various locations in the retina. A multiple electrode recording system is needed. In this study, we investigate the network properties of the two-dimensional rod coupled array of the salamander retina (both sexes were used) by using the newly available multiple patch electrode system that allows simultaneous recordings from up to eight cells and to determine the electrical connectivity among multiple rods. We found direct evidence that voltage signal spread in the rod–rod coupling network in the absence of I_h (mediated by HCN channels) is passive and follows the linear cable equation. Under physiological conditions, I_h shapes the network signal by progressively shortening the response time-to-peak of distant rods, compensating the time loss of signal traveling from distant rods to bipolar cell somas and facilitating synchronization of rod output signals. Under voltage-clamp conditions, current flow within the coupled rods follows Ohm’s law, supporting the idea that nonlinear behaviors of the rod network are dependent on membrane voltage. Rod–rod coupling is largely symmetrical in the 2D array, and voltage-clamp blocking the next neighboring rod largely suppresses rod signal spread into the second neighboring rod, suggesting that indirect coupling pathways play a minor role in rod–rod coupling.

光感受器彼此电耦合，并且由于单电极或对记录技术的限制，不允许同时测量多个光感受器的响应，二维视网膜网络中电突触的时空特性仍然没有得到很好的研究。位于视网膜的不同位置。需要多电极记录系统。在这项研究中，我们通过使用新推出的多贴片电极系统来研究蝾螈视网膜（使用了两种性别）的二维杆耦合阵列的网络特性，该系统允许同时记录多达八个细胞并确定电学特性。多根杆之间的连接。我们发现直接证据表明，在没有I _h （由 HCN 通道介导）的情况下，杆-杆耦合网络中的电压信号传播是无源的，并且遵循线性电缆方程。在生理条件下，I _h通过逐渐缩短远处杆的响应时间到峰值、补偿信号从远处杆传输到双极细胞体的时间损失并促进杆输出信号的同步来塑造网络信号。在电压钳条件下，耦合棒内的电流遵循欧姆定律，支持棒网络的非线性行为取决于膜电压的观点。杆-杆耦合在二维阵列中很大程度上是对称的，并且阻挡下一个相邻杆的电压钳在很大程度上抑制了杆信号传播到第二个相邻杆中，这表明间接耦合路径在杆-杆耦合中发挥次要作用。