retinal image processing and receptive fields Flashcards
what does light reflected from surfaces pass through ?
. light reflected from surfaces and objects in our field of view , passes through all the transparent media and crosses all the retinal layers, before the light is captured by visual pigment ( rhodopsin ) in outer segment
what is the direction of information processing?
. information processing direction is opposite to the direction of light
. cell bodies of rods and cones occupy the outer nuclear layer , they have synapses in the inner plexiform layer which they apply into dendrites of bipolar cells
. bipolar cells , cell body resides in the inner nuclear layer
. bipolar cells have synapses , which they form in the inner plexiform layer with the ganglion cells
what is vertical pathway?
- serial processing
. starts from photoreceptors to bipolar cells to ganglion cells
what is lateral pathway?
- lateral inhibition
- mediated by horizontal and amacrine cells
what is the function of horizontal cells?
- modifying the pathways between photoreceptors and bipolar cell
what is the function of amacrine cells?
- modifying the pathways between the bipolar cell and ganglion cell
what is a receptive field?
- all retinal neurons have a receptive field (RF)
. they only respond to specific light stimulus features in a spatially restricted region of the visual field
what are photoreceptors receptive field determined by?
- light sensitivity of their visual pigment and position of their outer segment in the retina
what are all other retinal neurons receptive field determined by?
- synaptic inputs received from photoreceptors and/or other retinal cells in the vertical and lateral pathways
what are the properties of receptive fields of photoreceptors?
- tiny(<0.01 degrees), circular and uniform
- luminance (brightness) and wavelength-dependent responses
- graded changes in membrane potential is their response to capturing light
what are the properties of bipolar and ganglion cells receptive fields ?
- larger, circular and non-uniform( more complex)
- due to convergence and spatial summation of synaptic inputs
- concentric , antagonistic , they have centre and surround regions
- luminance difference (contrast)-dependent responses- interested in intensity falling in centre than surround
- ganglion cells fire action potential
what are the centres of bipolar cells RF mediated by?
. the centres of bipolar cells receptive fields are mediated directly by photoreceptor input
what are the surrounds of bipolar cells RF mediated by?
. surrounds from photoreceptor-horizontal cell ( lateral ) interactions, then relayed to bipolar cells
what is the functional significance of contrast - dependent RF?
. for retinal ganglion cell signalling to the brain
. different types of contrast - sensitivity in midget/parvo compared to parasol/mango ganglion cell types
what is the difference between bipolar cells RF centre and surround?
. RF centre: direct photoreceptor inputs
(vertical pathway)
. RF surround: from photoreceptor-horizontal cell interactions ( lateral pathway)
where is the bipolar cell RF location?
. same region in space as where the photoreceptors are looking
what is the polarisation of photoreceptors ?
. photoreceptors are depolarised in the dark and hyperpolarize in response to light
why are photoreceptors are excited in the dark and inhibited when they catch light ?
. in the dark a current flows through both into the outer segment
. in the dark there are cation channels in the membrane of photoreceptors outer segment which allow sodium ions in the extracellular fluid to enter the cells outer segment ]
. at the same time potassium ions exist into the extracellular fluid
. there is a simultaneous influx of positively charged sodium ions and efflux of positively charged potassium ions - overall resting membrane potential is close to 0
what happens when photoreceptors capture light ?
. in the light , when photoreceptors capture the light through their rhodopsin , this results in closure of sodium channels in their outer segment
. when photoreceptor catches light , it leads to an enzyme cascade which reduces the concentration of cGMP which is converted into GMP
. GMP can’t hold the sodium channels open
. as a consequence in the light, there is no sodium influx into the outer segment
. potassium efflux continues
. cell becomes more negative