Foundations

1. Introduction
2. Gross Anatomy of the Eye
3. Simple Anatomy of the Retina
   • Overview
   • Central and peripheral retina compared
   • Muller Glial Cells
   • Foveal Structure
   • Macula Lutea
   • Blood supply to the retina
   • Degenerative diseases of the human retina
   • References
4. How the Retina Works. (7.5 MB pdf file) by Helga Kolb
   

1. Photoreceptors
   • Light microscopy and ultrastructure of rods and cones
   • Outer segment generation
   • Visual pigments and visual transduction
   • Phagocytosis of outer segments by pigment epithelium
   • Different types of cones
   • Morphology of the S-cones
   • Densities of rods and cones in the human retina
   • Rods and night vision
   • Ultrastructure of rod and cone synaptic endings
   • Inter-photoreceptor contacts at gap junctions
   • References
2. Outer plexiform layer
   • Techniques that have been used to understand neural pathways in the retina
   • Bipolar cells
   • Horizontal cells
   • ON and OFF pathways of the retina are initiated at the photoreceptor to bipolar contacts
   • References
3. S-Potentials and Horizontal cells. by Ido Perlman, Helga Kolb and Ralph Nelson
   • History
   • Morphology and Circuitry
   • Physiological Types
   • Rod and cone contributions and passive electrical models
   • Ionic conductances
   • Gap junctions and spatial characteristics
   • Feedback
   • Modulation of physiology
   • Functional Roles
   • References
4. Inner plexiform layer
   • Bipolar cells, amacrine cells and ganglion cells interact in the IPL
   • Ultrastructure of the neuropil
   • Different morphological types of amacrine and ganglion cells
   • Stratification of amacrine and ganglion cells in relationship to bipolar cell axons
   • References
5. Morphology and Circuitry of Ganglion cells
   • General morphology
   • Alpha and beta ganglion cell types of mammalian retinas
   • Non alpha and non beta ganglion cell types in mammalian retinas
   • Convergence of photoreceptors and second order neurons to cat retinal ganglion cells
   • Identity of amacrine cell types inputting cat alpha and beta ganglion cells
   • Primate ganglion cells
   • Rabbit ganglion cells
   • References
6. Visual Responses of Ganglion cells. By Ralph Nelson
   • Overview
   • History of Electrical Recordings
   • ON and OFF Responses
   • Receptive field
   • Centers and Surrounds
   • Contrast Sensitivity functions and Difference of Gaussians
   • X and Y receptive fields
   • Directionally Selective Ganglion Cells
   • Modeling Directional Selectivity
   • Pharmacology of Directional Selectivity
   • Color and Spectral Responses
   • Color and Receptive Fields
   • Tonic and phasic ganglion cells of primate retina
   • Color properties of primate ganglion cells
   • Rod signals in retinal ganglion cells
   • Rod signals are delayed
   • Detection of light quanta by retinal ganglion cells
   • Receptive field alterations with rod vision
   • Spatial distribution of ganglion cell fields
   • Ganglion cell mosaics and spatial resolution
   • Correlated firing of neighboring ganglion cells
   • Neurotransmitter receptors and synaptic currents
   • Ganglion cells that are involved in the circadian clock
   • References