Visual System Flashcards
Macula lutea
Contains central fovea (pit)
Four cell layers of retina
- Pigment cell layer
- Rods
- Cones
- Ganglion cell layer
Pigment cell layer
Derived from choroid, attaches retina to eye ball, absorbs stray light
Rods
Light receptors
Located at periphery of retina, for low light vision & perception of movement
Cones
Light receptor
Concentrated in central retina, fovea only contains cones and is the area of max visual acuity, color and brightness discrimination
Ganglion cell layer
Myelinated axons of these cells form the optic nerve
Refraction
- inverted image of the object is focused on the retina
2. Light is refracted by cornea, aqueous humor, lens (where image is inverted) and the vitreous humor
Lens function
Changes refractive power by changing shape of lens (rounder for close viewing, flatter for distant)
Lens at rest
Lens is held relatively flat by suspensory fibers that connect it to the ciliary muscle
Accommodation
Lens increases its refractive power to view a near object by becoming more convex (rounder)
Accommodation steps
- Ciliary muscle contracts (parasympathetic fibers)
- Tension on suspensory fibers is reduced
- Lens contracts into a more spherical shape
- Can see near objects
Emmetropia
Normally occurring condition in which the image of an object is focused on the retinal surface
Hypermetropia
(Far- sightedness)
Focal point falls behind the retinal surface
Myopia
(Near sidedness)
Focal point falls in front of the retina
Presbyopia
Loss of lens elasticity noted with age.
Bifocals needed
Bifocals
Part of the lens corrects vision for distance and a part that corrects for near vision
Optic disc
Produces blind spot, exit of optic nerve
Rod receptor function
Used in dim conditions due to low threshold, low rod acuity
Cones receptor function
Used in high light conditions due to high threshold, high acuity and provides color vision
Color vision
3 different cones: blue, green, red are sensitive to different wavelength of light
-perception of other colors is due to the relative excitation of the different cones
Color blindness
Result of absence of one or more cone populations
Neural coding of visual signals
Potentials in receptors are transmitted to bipolar cells and then altered by other cells in the retina through: the vertical system or horizontal system
Vertical system function
Signals pass from receptors to bipolar cells to ganglion cells
Horizontal system function
Horizontal and amacrine cells provide lateral interactions (lateral inhibition) between different vertical system components
Ganglion cell function
Final stage of retinal processing, and transmit info to subcortical visual centers in the brain, axons form optic nerve
Receptive field
The area in visual space (or the corresponding area of retinal surface) which upon illumination influences the signaling neuron
Sustained ganglion cells
Respond as long as the stimulus remains w/in the receptive field