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PSY1016 Biological Psychology with Research Methods 1 > 6- The Retina > Flashcards

6- The Retina Flashcards

1
Q

Where is the retina?

A

At the back of the eye

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2
Q

How many cells are in the retina?

A

100 million+

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3
Q

How does light reach photoreceptors in the retina?

A

Light passes through overlying tissue

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4
Q

What is the advantage of the inside-out arrangement in the retina?

A

Pigmented epithelium below photoreceptors absorbs light that passes entirely through the retina that minimises light scattering

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5
Q

What do photoreceptors do?

A

Convert electromagnetic radiation to neural signals

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6
Q

What are the two types of photoreceptors?

A

Cones and rods

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7
Q

What are the 3 main regions of photoreceptors?

A

Outer segment, inner segment, synaptic terminal

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8
Q

Where is there a higher ratio of rods to cones?

A

In the peripheral retina

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9
Q

Why are rods more sensitive to light?

A

There is a higher ratio of photoreceptors to ganglion cells

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10
Q

Where is the only place cones are found and why?

A

At the fovea as they have a high acuity and low sensitivity

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11
Q

Why is there more convergence in the rod system?

A

Increasing sensitivity while decreasing acuity

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12
Q

What is phototransduction?

A

The conversion of light to neural signals

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13
Q

What do rods and cones contain?

A

Photosensitive pigment

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14
Q

What does the absorption of photons of light by pigment generate?

A

Electrical signal

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15
Q

What does the G protein-linked receptor respond to?

A

Light rather than neurotransmitters

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16
Q

What happens to Na+ channels in the dark?

A

They partially open

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17
Q

What happens to Na+ channels in the light?

A

They close and rods hyperpolarise

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18
Q

How do the 3 different pigments in cones differ?

A

Wavelengths and spectral sensitivity

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19
Q

How do we perceive colour?

A

Through visible light in the electromagnetic spectrum

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20
Q

What is ability to perceive light dependent on?

A

The information we are given

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21
Q

What are the 3 different types of cones in humans?

A

Red, blue, green

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22
Q

Vision in cones

A

Photopic (daytime) and colour vision

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23
Q

Main location of cones

A

Fovea

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24
Q

Why do cones have high acuity?

A

1 cone to 1 ganglion cell

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25
Vision in rods
Scotopic (night time) and noncolour
26
Main location of rods
Periphery
27
Why do rods have low acuity?
Many rods to 1 ganglion cell
28
What cells in the retina fire action potentials?
Ganglion cells
29
How do other cells in the retina respond to stimulation?
With graded changes in membrane potential
30
What is the direct pathway of ganglion cells to fire action potentials?
Photoreceptor --> bipolar cell --> ganglion cell
31
What happens after light hyperpolarises photoreceptor cells?
They stop releasing glutamate to bipolar cells, which depolarise and release neurotransmitters to ganglion cells
32
How is the visual field mapped?
Point-to-point on the retina
33
What lateral connections in the retina modify responses?
Connections of horizontal and amacrine cells
34
100 million receptors are recoded to how many ganglion cells?
1.25 million
35
What does each receptive field for each ganglion cell do?
Combines input from a number of photoreceptors
36
When do cells in centre-surround receptive fields respond best?
When there's contrast
37
2 types of retinal ganglion cells
M-type and P-type
38
What are the 3 differences between types of retinal ganglion cells?
Appearance Connectivity Electrophysiological response properties
39
Where is input to M-type cells primarily from?
Rods
40
Where is input to P-type cells primarily from?
Cones
41
What information does the retina extract?
About differences in brightness/contrast and colour
42
What is included in retinofugal projection? (7)
- Optic nerve - Optic chiasm - Lateral geniculate nuclei - Optic radiation - Primary visual cortex - Hypothalamus (nonthalamic) - Superior colliculus (nonthalamic)
43
Role of the hypothalamus in retinofugal projection
Biological rhythms control, including sleep and wakefulness
44
Role of the superior colliculus in retinofugal projection
Orients eye in response to new stimuli
45
What is contralateral wiring?
Left hemifield projects to right side of brain and vice versa
46
Which axons cross and which stay ipsilateral?
Ganglion cell axons from nasal retina cross Temporal retinal axons stay ipsilateral
47
Where does information cross?
At the optic chiasm
48
What would a lesion in a visual hemifield mean?
We lose parts of the visual field
49
What would a lesion to the optic tract mean?
We would lose information on a contralateral hemifield
50
What type of structure is the lateral geniculate nucleus?
Thalamic
51
What is the first synaptic relay in the primary visual pathway?
Lateral geniculate nucleus
52
What is monocular input?
Input from two eyes is kept separate
53
What are receptive fields of the lateral geniculate nucleus similar to?
Ganglion cells
54
What are neighbouring regions of the visual field processed by?
By neighbouring regions of the visual cortex
55
What areas is more of the cortex devoted to?
Areas of high acuity
56
How is the retina stimulated?
By a point of light
57
Where is the peak of the broad distribution of activity in the striate cortex?
At the corresponding retinotopic location
58
How are cells with same eye preferences grouped?
Into ocular dominance columns
59
What do cells within the same column share?
The same ocular dominance and receptive fields in similar areas of the visual field
60
What is the receptive field of a cortical visual neuron?
The area of a visual field within which it is possible for a visual stimulus to influence firing of a given neuron
61
What is orientation selectivity?
Cells respond to particular orientation
62
What is direction selectivity?
Cells respond to direction of movement
63
What is an orientation column?
Orientation of nearby neurons is related
64
What is a cortical module?
Each module that is capable of analysing every aspect of portion of the visual field
65
What do ocular dominance columns respond to?
Respond more to information from 1 eye
66
3 things caused by damage to the primary visual cortex
Scotomas, completion, and blinsight
67
What is a scotoma?
An area of blindness in the contralateral visual field due to damage to the primary visual cortex
68
What is blindsight?
A response to visual stimuli outside conscious awareness of 'seeing'
69
4 aspects of functional areas of the secondary and association visual cortex
- Neurons in each area respond to different visual cues - Lesions result in specific deficits - Anatomically distinct - Retinotopically organised
70
What analysis is involved in the dorsal stream?
Analysis of visual motion and visual control of action
71
Where is area MT?
In the temporal lobe
72
How is the dorsal stream arranged?
Into direction-of-motion columns
73
What is akinetopsia?
Motion blindness
74
How is akinetopsia caused?
Damage to middle temporal area of cortex
75
What deficiency is implicated in akinetopsia?
Deficiency in ability to see movement progress in normal smooth fashion
76
What perception does the ventral stream control?
Perception of the visual world and recognition of objects
77
What does the area V4 control?
Colour vision and shape perception
78
What does damage to area V4 cause?
Achromatopsia- partial or complete loss of colour vision
79
What does damage to the fusiform gyrus (face area) cause?
Prosopagnosia- inability to distinguish faces
80
What is visual perception?
Identifying and assigning meaning to objects
81
What are retinal ganglion cells sensitive to?
Contrast and wavelength of light
82
What is involved in the striate cortex?
Orientation and direction selectivity, binocularity
83
What response does the extrastriate cortical areas control?
Selective responses to complex shapes

PSY1016 Biological Psychology with Research Methods 1 (34 decks)

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