What do retinal ganglion cells respond to?

In a popular view of retinal function, each ganglion cell responds to a small region of interest in the visual image, known as its receptive field, and is specialized for certain image features within that window. When a cell encounters that image feature, the neuron responds by firing one or more spikes.

Do retinal ganglion cells respond to light?

Instead, the SCN-projecting retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) function as autonomous photoreceptors and exhibit light responses independent of rod- and cone-driven input.

What type of visual stimuli are retinal ganglion cells selective for?

Computing the direction of motion for a moving objector scene is the most complex information processing task performed by vertebrate retinas. Directionally selective retinal ganglion cells respond to stimuli moving in a preferred direction and are inhibited by stimuli moving in the opposite or null direction.

What are retinal ganglion cells sensitive to?

Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the ganglion cell layer) of the retina of the eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and retina amacrine cells.

How do retinal ganglion cells work?

Retinal ganglion cells process visual information that begins as light entering the eye and transmit it to the brain via their axons, which are long fibers that make up the optic nerve. There are over a million retinal ganglion cells in the human retina, and they allow you to see as they send the image to your brain.

What are retinal ganglion cells?

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the bridging neurons that connect the retinal input to the visual processing centres within the central nervous system.

How does the retina process visual information?

The moment light meets the retina, the process of sight begins. The information from the retina — in the form of electrical signals — is sent via the optic nerve to other parts of the brain, which ultimately process the image and allow us to see. …

What image property do ganglion cells in the retina respond best to?

Ganglion cells respond best to small spots of light, small rings of light, or edges of light in a center-surround pattern. The center-surround receptive field is created by the amacrine and horizontal cells via their lateral communication with bipolar and ganglion cells.

Where do retinal ganglion cells?

Ganglion cell axons exit the retina through a circular region in its nasal part called the optic disk (or optic papilla), where they bundle together to form the optic nerve.

What do ganglia do?

Ganglia are clusters of nerve cell bodies found throughout the body. They are part of the peripheral nervous system and carry nerve signals to and from the central nervous system.

Which structures carry visual information to retinal ganglion cells?

The fovea of the retina and the layers of the retina in the surrounding macula. The fovea and macula are colored as they appear when stained for Nissl substance, which is most abundant in the neuron cell body. The human has two types of photoreceptors: the rods and cones (Figure 14.20).

What is the visual system supposed to do?

The visual system carries out a number of complex tasks, including the reception of light and the formation of monocular neural representations, colour vision, the neural mechanisms underlying stereopsis and assessment of distances to and between objects, the identification of particular object of interest, motion …