PSY280 - 3. MIDDLE VISION Flashcards
neural convergence
126 million photoreceptors, but only 1 million ganglion cells
last station before retina
convergence: # of neurons will synapse into single neuron
10 photoreceptors converge on ganglion cells
rods have more convergence since there are way more of them
RODS
fact that rods converge more than cones explains why rods are more sensitive than cones
red dot - ganglion cell - needs 10 units to fire
dim light interact with rods to produce little bit of activation - 2 units because its low intensity
RODS
cones have less convergence, some cases, 1 to 1 connection
it needs 10 units, but under dim light, each cone is only activated to 2 units so it’s not over the threshold
rods are more sensitive than cones - dim light, no problem
dim light for cones - problem
neural convergence
diminishes acuity of rods
ganglion doesn’t know which rod/how many are activated
can’t tell the difference between 1 spot, 2 spots of light
Cones
better visual acuity because they have less convergence.
monogamous, can tell which cone is activated because they’re only connected to 1
better precision
Convergence cause the rods to be more sensitive than the cones
takes less light to generate a response from rods then from cones
One unit of light intensity causes the release of one unit of excitatory transmitter which causes one unit of excitation in the ganglion cell
For Cones ganglion cells the fire, he must increase the intensity to 10
Lack of convergence causes the cones to have better acuity then the rods
Cones a better visual acuity because they have less conversions
Visual acuity is highest in the fovea
High convergence results in high sensitivity but poor acuity
Retinal ganglion cells
can receive info from multiple photoreceptors
photoreceptors are at very back + converge at ganglion cells
there is always some level of convergence
first place where action potential occurs
Retinal ganglion cells
electrical activity of other neurons in the retina is transient, local, and graded.
affects levels of neurotransmitters, but doesn’t cause action potentials
receptive field
area on receptor surface that, when stimulated, affects the firing rate of that neuron
collecting out at the blind spot
receptive field is neurons that feed into ganglion cell
receptive field
light hits photoreceptors + produces electrical activity + converge into a ganglion cell
area on receptor field that affects a particular neuron
can have overlapping receptor fields
centre-surround receptive fields
depending on where light shines, there are diff effects
light on centre, increase response
light on the inhibitory surround, inhibition, less response than baseline
no response if you activate the centre + whole surround`
centre-surround receptive fields
Receptive field is called an excitatory – center, inhibitory – surround receptive field
Receptive field which responds with inhibition when the center stimulated + excitatory when this around stimulated is inhibitory
centre-surround receptive fields
each retinal ganglion cells fire betw 20 + 50 ties per sec in uniform white light/absence of life + any wave length as long as its totally uniform
ganglion celss are optimized for detecting diff in lighting
inhibitory-centre, excitatory- surround.
OFF center
spot in centre: less response
spot in surround: more response
Center–surround antagonism:
small spot of light presented to excitatory center causes small increase in rate of nerve firing + increases light side so that it covers entire center of the receptive field increases cells response
On + Off Bipolar Cells
Whether RGC has an excitatory or inhibitory centre depends on bipolar cells that is receives signals from:
link betw photoreceptors + ganglion
In the light
photoreceptors hyperpolarized & release less glutamate
ON bipolar cells spontaneously depolarize in absence of glutamate
light - less glutamate - on bipolar cells depolarize
In the light
OFF bipolar cells become hyperpolarized in the light, making RGCs less likely to fire.
less glutamate - hyperpolarize - doesn’t fire
in light on higher firing rate, off lower firing rate
horizontal cells + amacrine
between receptors
Signals sent horizontally by horizontal cells & amacrine cells
plays role in surround organization
horizontal: communication betw receptors
amacrine: communication betw bipolar + ganglion
ON ganglion cell
Signals produced by photoreceptors in surround are passed on to the horizontal cells, which inhibit photoreceptors linked to the centre responses.
center increases firing rate, but firing rate of on centre will be weaker if spot reaches inhibitory area
horizontal cells provide lateral inhibition
ON/OFF
ON/OFF ganglion cell will maximally fire to light spot that precisely fills its centre excitatory region in the presence of a dark surround. OFF/ON ganglion cell will maximally fire to a dark spot that fills its centre in the presence of a light surround.
ganglion interested in contrast
uniform illumination
retinal ganglion cells fire between 20 & 50 times per sec.
with same stimulation for centre + surround = no change in baseline
Lateral inhibition
antagonistic neural interactions betw adjacent regions of retina
some photoreceptors are excited, horizontal cells turn that into inhibition on adjacent cells
turns into an antagonistic relationship
Lateral inhibition
inhibition that is transmitted across the retina and can cause perceptual effects
inhibition that get transmitted across retina to illustrate contrast
lateral plexus
sheet of branching axons that transmit lateral inhibition
like horizontal cells