Vision Flashcards
From what structure does the eye develop?
Out-pouching of the diencephalon called the optic disk
What are the three layers of the eye?
Sclera, choroid, retina
What layer of the eye is part of the CNS?
The retina, so you can use an ophthalmoscope to check for CNS problems
What is phototransduction?
The process by which light impinges on the retina and is converted to a neutral signal (graded response)
What are the layers of the retina from outermost to innermost?
- Pigmented epithelium
- Photoreceptors cells (outer segment, outer nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer)
- Bipolar and horizontal cells (inner nuclear layer, inner plexiform layer)
- Ganglion cell layer
- Nerve fiber layer
What occurs in the outer segment of the photoreceptors layer?
Detection of light occurs
What is the outer nuclear layer of the retina?
The nuclei of the photoreceptors
What occurs in the outer plexiform layer of the retina?
Photoreceptors synapse with bipolar and horizontal cells
What is the inner nuclear layer of the retina?
The cell bodies (soma) of the bipolar and horizontal cells
What occurs in the inner plexiform layer of the retina?
The axons of bipolar cells synapse with the dendrites of ganglion cells.
Amincrine cells make lateral connections at the bipolar/ganglion synapses
Where are Amincrine cells found?
What cell is it analogous to (only in a different layer)
In the inner plexiform layer connecting to the bipolar/ganglion synapses (horizontal connections like the horizontal cells in the outer plexiform layer)
Ganglion cells project their neurons through what layer to end up where?
Axonal processes travel through the nerve fiber layer to exit the eye at the optic disc to form the optic nerve.
Do the chemical synapses in the retina generate action potentials?
Why or why not?
They operate throughout graded responses because the signal is traveling such a short distance (250 microm) there is no need to waste energy on an AP
What is the path of light into the retina?
It travels through the nerve fiber, ganglion cell, inner plexiform, inner nuclear, outer plexiform, outer nuclear, to the photoreceptors outer segment where the light is detected.
A graded response travels back through all those layers until the ganglion cell and then an AP is generated
What are the 2 classes of photoreceptors and 4 classes of neurons in the retina?
Photoreceptors : rod and cone
Neurons: bipolar, horizontal, Amincrine, ganglion
How many mV is the typical graded response in the retina?
40mV
In the dark, what is the membrane potential?
What happens when there is a brief flash of light?
-40 mV (relatively depolarized)
When there is a flash of light, there is a transient hyperpolarization (graded)
How is the membrane potential of the photoreceptor measured?
It is impaled with a Microelectrode and the voltage response can be measured?
What organelle is prominent in the cell body of a photoreceptor cell?
What does this tell us about photoreceptors?
What does this make the photoreceptor sensitive to?
Mitochondria which tells us that photoreceptors are metabolically active.
Because the mitochondria rely on oxygen, the photoreceptor cells are particularly sensitive to ischemia
What happens if you shine a flask of light on the axon of a photoreceptor cell?
Nothing! The photoreceptor outer segment is the part of the photoreceptor that detects light!
In the dark, what is the direction of current? What ions are involved?
What happens when there is a flash of light?
There is a net inward current of Na and Ca.
The light reduces Na and Ca current by closing a cGMP-gated channel to close. So the voltage of the cell is now determined by the net movement of K out of the cell (hyperpolarize)
Why does flashing light on a photoreceptor cause hyperpolarize tin?
The light closes a cGMP-gated channel reducing the inflow of Na and Ca into the cell. The net flow of current is now determined by K flowing out (hyperpolarization)
If you increase the duration of the flash of light on the retina, what happens to the membrane potential?
The amplitude of the hyperpolarization and the time it takes to depolarize back to -40mV both increase
What happens to the photopigments in rods and cones when they are exposed to light?
What are photopigments compromised of?
They undergo molecular rearrangement.
They are comprised of 11-cis retinal covalently bound to an opsin