1. Retina: Microcircuits for Daylight, Twilight, and Starlight Vision
- Author
-
Jonathan B. Demb and Joshua H. Singer
- Subjects
Twilight ,Retina ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,media_common.quotation_subject ,medicine ,food and beverages ,Astronomy ,Daylight ,sense organs ,Art ,media_common ,Starlight - Abstract
Over the course of the day, light intensity can vary by 10 billion-fold, but a retinal ganglion cell’s spike rate can change only by 100-fold. To cover the huge intensity range, two fundamentally different retinal circuits are required: a cone bipolar circuit for transmitting graded photoreceptor signals and a rod bipolar circuit capable of transmitting binary signals. By using gap junctions, the two circuits can share key neural elements. Such an efficient use of circuitry is critical in a neural tissue that is constrained to be thin and transparent.
- Published
- 2017
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