Fucntional Retina Flashcards
Ganglion cells in the fovea
They are directed away from the fovea
Is the retina just a reciever or does it receive and analyze
Analyzes too
Ganglion cells: action or graded potential?
Action
Electrophysiology of ganglion cells
- Fovea aligned with point on screen
- Micoelecrtode placed in extracellular fluid next to ganglion
- Action potentials read
- Spot of light elicits response from cell
Spoanteous activity
Cells spontaneously generates action potentials
-maintained discharge
A stimulus in the receptive field and the firing rate of the neuron
Will either increase or decrease the firing rate of the neuron, depends on location
Primary input to the ganglion cells
Photoreceptors
A small light located within the center of the this receptive field does what
Causes an increases in the frequency of action potentials
Small light positioned int he surround of the receptirvefield
Produced a reduction in the frequency of action potentials
If the experiment is repeated with a larger spot of light, there is an _____in the frequency of action potentials due to spatial summation that occurs within the receptive fields center
Increase
If light covers the center and the surround: GC response to a stimulus like this is _______ as if there was no stimulus
About the same
-spatially antagonistic ganglion cells do not respond well to diffuse illumination
Spatially antagonistic ganglion cells and diffuse illumination
Do not respond well to diffuse illumination
Ganglion cells and sine wave grating (bars)
Strong stimulus for ganglion
- bright bar falls on excitatory center: increased frequency of action potentials
- dark bars fall on inhibitory surround: also increases the frequency of action potentials
- spatial grating vigorously excites cell
Spatial grating and GC
Vigorously excites the cell
Receptive field GC graph
As spot of light increases, action potentials increase. When you reach C (whol width of center) action potentials actually decrease at this point with larger stimulus
-eventually a point is reached where further increases int he stimulus diamter have no effect on the cells response
How does a photoreceptors respond to light
Hyperpolarizes
Horizaontal cells respond to light
Hyperpolarizes
-has an input from more than one photoreceptor
Off-center, on-surround bipolar cell with the annulus of light
Becomes more negative
Off center and on surround amacrine cell
Action potentials
-first cell int he sequence where we see an action potential response
Ganglion cell off center
Action potential in the dark, hyperpolarizes in the dark
Specialized sensory receptors that contain photosensitive epigment.
Photoreceptors
Light quanta int he photoreceptors
Converted into electrical activity
Photoreceptors are slightly _______
Depolarized
- RMP: -50mV
- typical neuron RMP: -70mV
When do photoreceptors hyperpolarize
When exposed to light
Goes from -50mV to -70mV
Graded potential in photoreceptors
Not all or nothing like some neurons
Greater intensity stimulus causes greater hyperpolarization
Dark current in photoreceptors
An+ ions flow through ion Chanel’s into rod outer segment, produces the slight -50mV depolarization
What produces the slight depolarization we see in photoreceptors
Dark current
Phototransduction cascade
11-cis retinal—
Where does isomerizAtion take place on the 11=cis retinal
Between carbons 11 and 12
Comparison of 11-cis to all-trans retinal
All-trans: the carbons at 11 and 12 are opposite each other
Visually inert chain of amino acid
Opsin
Interlaced into the disc membranes of rod outer segment, determines the absorption profile of the photo pigment
Opsin
Repsoisnice to light, consist of retinal, an altered form fo a retinol (vitamin A)
Chromophere
I bleached retinal
11-cis state
-there is a bend at carbon 11
Absorption fo quantum of light and retinal
Retinal isomerizAtion to all-trans Transducin activates PDE PDE breaks down cGMP to CMP Lower cGMP levels lead to closing of rod outer segment Na+ channels Results in rod hyperpolarization
ROS sodium channel quantities is limited
Constrains the potential magnitude of rod hyperpolarization
When even a small amount of a rods rhodopsin is bleached (all sodium channels are closed, further bleaching does not result in further hyperpolarization), explains psychophysical phenomenon of rod saturation seen in the scotopic light adaption function
Receptor terminals: if it touches just the edges
Flat synapse