Vision Flashcards
What are the three kinds of cones and their wavelength?
- S-cones (short-wavelength) –> are sensitive to blue light and have a wavelength of around 425nm. Rhodopsin will be most activated.
- M-cones (medium-wavelength) –> are sensitive to green light. Absorption peak around 525nm.
- L-cones (long-wavelength) –> are sensitive to red light. Absorption peaks around 550nm.
What is magenta?
Magenta is not a single color it’s a lot of colors combined. Magenta is the whole spectrum and you take away green from the spectrum.
What is Trichromatic vision?
The ability of humans and some other animals to see different colors. 92% of males, and almost all females. Compare green and red photoreceptors.
8% of males are missing either M or L pigment.
What is tritanopia vision?
Tritanopia makes you unable to tell the difference between blue and yellow.
Edge detection:
Understand center-surround organization.
Retinal cells will have a receptor field (area of the world it looks at, based on which photoreceptors it connects to).
On-center/Off-center
Excited in the center, inhibited by light in the surround. Like light in the center and off in the surround.
Doesn’t like a light in the surround. Likes dark in the surround.
OFF-center/On-center
Opposite response
Determine the RGC Response to stimulus:
- Nothing –> get an action potential
- Bright spot in the center –> gets really excited and fires lots of fire potentials by retinal ganglia. GIVES THE BEST RESPONSE
- Bright spot covering the whole receptive field –> doesn’t like it much.
- Dark spot in the center, bright surround –> it really does not like it. It rebounds after it shuts off.
This is an ON-center/OFF-surround because of #2
Determine the RGC Response Properties
- Nothing
- Bright spot in the center –> it rebounds, fires more action potentials when you turn it off –> makes it dark again. Shuts up and doesn’t like it.
- Bright area covering the whole receptive field –> a little better but not much
- Dark spot in the center, bright surround –> very strong excited
This is an OFF-center/On-center because of #4
Receptive field
Ganglion cells are the first neurons in the retina that respond with action potentials.
Building on - and off-center circuits
All photoreceptors release glutamate. Will be releasing less glutamate in the light because photoreceptors hyperpolarize in the light, and less glutamate release.
What kind of receptors does OFF-center have?
They have excitatory cells AMPA/kainate receptors (+) and are excited by glutamate. If the photoreceptor receives light it will release less glutamate –> hyperpolarize. It is because it is normally excited in the dark it will be inhibited in the light.
OFF-center you get rid of excitation in the light.
What are the two types of bipolar cells?
The On-center bipolar cells will depolarize.
The OFF-center bipolar cells will hyperpolarize.
When a center cone is illuminated:
It will depolarize
What kind of receptors does On-center have?
They have metabotropic glutamate receptors (-) that are hyperpolarized by glutamate. In the dark, it’s going to get more glutamate gets more hyperpolarized.
Light comes on –> less glutamate –> depolarizes. Inhibition makes light excitatory bc you are reducing inhibition of the bipolar cell when the photoreceptors hyperpolarize.
When a center cone is illuminated it’s going to depolarize. Meaning the light source is producing light in the center of the beam.
How are bipolar cells connected to one another?
By horizontal cells
How are bipolar cells connected to one another?
By horizontal cells
If a center cone absorbs a photon what will happen?
It is going to be hyperpolarized and release less glutamate.
What is the bipolar cell: effect of glutamate?
On-center: it’s going to be inhibitory, when the light comes on in t1 there’s less inhibition and the on-center bipolar cells depolarize.
Off-center: excited by glutamate
What is the RGC response to bipolar?
On-center ganglion cell —> excited by light
Off-center ganglion cell —> inhibited by light
What do cones do in the dark?
They depolarize
What happens if you hyperpolarize the surrounding cone?
That will hyperpolarize the horizontal cell bc that cone to horizontal cell synapse signs preserving. If the cone goes down, the horizontal cell goes down.
What are the two types of bipolar cells?
The On-center bipolar cells will depolarize.
The OFF-center bipolar cells will hyperpolarize.
How excited will the retinal ganglia be if sitting in dim light?
Not very excited.
How excited will RGC be if you got part of the surround illuminated and part of the center illuminated?
Some excitation coming from the center, but the surround is reducing the excitation.
What happens when the edge has gone past the center so now the center is illuminated and part of the surround is illuminated?
You will get a strong excitation bc the center is very strong, and the surround is not inhibiting as much bc it’s not a completely illuminating surround.
Photoreceptors in the Human Retina
looking at something straight ahead will be at 0 degrees –> land on the fovea (highest density of photoreceptors)
Should you look directly at objects in low light?
no bc cones have poor sensitivity.
cGMP
This molecule opens up specialized dark current Na+ channels. This is made by guanylate cyclase.
How does cGMP respond to light?
The amount of cGMP present decreases with the advent of light, causing dark current sodium channels to close. Photoreceptor cells then hyperpolarize in the presence of light.
What do cones do in the dark?
They depolarize
Glutamate from photoreceptors excites horizontal cells
when a cone is hyperpolarized by the light the horizontal cells is hyperpolarized by light
Lateral inhibition:
Glutamate from photoreceptors excites horizontal cells –> when a cone is hyperpolarized by the light the horizontal cell is hyperpolarized by light.