Test 2 - Vision Flashcards
What do the different layers of the retina consist of?
Inside
1. Pigment epithelium
2. Outer segment of photoreceptors
3. Outer nuclear layer
4. Outer plexiform layer
5. Inner nuclear layer
6. Inner plexiform layer
7. Ganglion cell layer
Outside (light)
Pigment epithelium
protective layer not involved with vision
Outer segment of photoreceptors
where light receptors are located (rods and cones top part) - input layer
Outer plexiform layer
rods and cones are in contact with horizontal, bipolar, and amacrine cells
Outer nuclear layer
cell bodies of rods & cones (nucleus)
Inner nuclear layer
cell bodies of the horizontal, bipolar, and amacrine cells
Inner plexiform layer
where horizontal, bipolar, and amacrine cells are in contact with RGCs
Ganglion cell layer
RGCs are located here and communicate with optic nerve (output layer)
What does RGC stand for?
retinal ganglion cell
Rods
photon (bundle of light energy) detectors
Cones
visual acuity and color
What is the receptor name used in rods?
Rhodopsin
What is the name of the G-protein associated with the GPCR in rods?
Transducin
What do guanylate cyclase and phosphodiesterase do in cells, respectively?
They are both used in phototransduction (biochemical reactions triggered by photon absorption)
Dark - guanylate cyclase - converts GTP into cGMP and PDE is inactive
Light - GC converts GTP into cGMP which is cleaved by PDE into GMP
(dark=cGMP ; light=GMP)
Describe what happens in rods when light hits rhodopsin
Light:
1. light hits rhodopsin and alters conformation bringing it closer to transducin
2. activation of transducin leads to activation of effector PDE
3. PDE breakdown cGMP (2nd messenger) to GMP
4. This leads to cGMP-gate cation channels closing (CNG channels)
5. Once channels are closed the rods will be hyperpolarized (no a.p./NTs)
6. All decrease glutamate released from rod
(light stops activation of rods because it induces the destruction of the 2nd messenger)
Describe what happens in rods when light is off, meaning no light his rhodopsin.
- no light to change the conformation of rhodopsin
- cGMP remains in cell (is not cleared by PDE)
- cGMP binds to CNG channel
- CNG is a nonselective channel which allows: Na, Ca (*), K efflux
- Depolarization occurs and glutamate released
Describe the cell pathway behind recovery.
Recovery = light-activated photoreceptors return to “dark state”
- stop activating PDE
- stop cutting up cGMP
- cGMP levels increase & bind to CNG
- CNG opens and Ca comes in
- increase in Ca leads to an increase in GCAP which activates GC
- GC makes cGMP from GMP
- Na and Ca continue coming in leading to depolarization
- Arrestin activated (binds to GPCRs to deactivate them)
Describe Weber’s law as it relates to adaptation in vision
Weber’s law states that an increase in stimulus plus a lesser new stimulus you will perceive the new stimulus poorly. It must be different enough from original to be sensitive to charge
- depends on Ca concentrations
Adaptation
In vision is the adjustment of photoreceptors sensitivity according to background light level (less sen. if background bright)
- depends on Ca concentrations