Spanish Version







Use the form below to search in Webvision:

Foundations

  1. Introduction
  2. Gross Anatomy of the Eye
  3. Simple Anatomy of the Retina
  4. How the Retina Works. (1.3 MB pdf file) by Helga Kolb
Anatomy and Physiology of the retina

  1. The retinal pigment epithelium. by Olaf Strauss

  2. Photoreceptors
  3. Outer plexiform layer
  4. S-Potentials and Horizontal cells. by Ido Perlman, Helga Kolb and Ralph Nelson
  5. Inner plexiform layer
  6. Morphology and Circuitry of Ganglion cells
  7. Visual Responses of Ganglion cells. by Ralph Nelson
  8. Melanopsin Ganglion Cells: A Bit of Fly in the Mammalian Eye. by Dustin Graham

  9. Glial cells of the retina

Retinal circuits

  1. Circuitry for Rod Signals
  2. Cone pathways through the retina
  3. Roles of Amacrine Cells
  4. AII Amacrine Cells. by Mahnoosh Farsaii and Victoria P. Connaughton.
  5. Midget Pathways of the primate retina underlie resolution and red green color opponency
  6. S-cone pathways
  7. Feedback Loops

Neurotransmitters in the Retina

    1. General characteristics
    2. The neurotransmitter of neurons of the vertical pathways through the retina is glutamate
    3. Gamma aminobutyric acid
    4. Glycine
    5. Dopamine is present in amacrine cells in the mammalian retina
    6. Acetylcholine
    7. Serotonin
    8. Adenosine may be a retinal neurotransmitter
    9. Substance P occurs in an amacrine type and a ganglion cell type
    10. Other neuropeptides
    11. NADPH-diaphorase staining and the possibility that there are nitric oxide containing neurons in the retina
    12. Amacrine cell populations and mosaics arrangements are revealed by neurotransmitter immunocytochemistry
    13. References

    Glycine Receptor Diversity in the Mammalian Retina. by Silke Haverkamp
    1. Introduction
    2. Structure of glycine receptors
    3. Developmental expression
    4. Glycinergic amacrine cells
    5. Morphological types of glycinergic amacrine cells
    6. GlyR diversity in the mouse retina
    7. Co-localization of GlyR subunits at postsynaptic sites
    8. Expression of GlyRs by identified neurons
    9. Glycine receptors expressed by bipolar cells
    10. Glycine receptors on AII and narrow-field amacrine cells
    11. Glycine receptors expressed by wide-field amacrine cells
    12. Glycine receptors expressed by ganglion cells
    13. Summary and conclusion
    14. References


Phototransduction and Photoreceptor Synaptic Pathways

    Phototransduction in Rods and Cones. by Yingbin Fu
    1. Introduction
    2. Structure of rods and cones
    3. Can we see a single photon?
    4. Development of mouse photoreceptors
    5. Vertebrate rods are highly efficient photon detectors
    6. Phototransduction in rods: a G-protein-signaling pathway
    7. Visual Pigments of Mouse Rods and Cones
    8. High quantum efficiency of photoactivation
    9. The activation of transducin constitutes the first amplification step
    10. The high catalytic power of PDE accounts for the second amplification step
    11. cGMP is the second messenger mediating rod phototransduction
    12. The cGMP-gated channel provides the final step of photo-activation
    13. Phototransduction termination
    14. R* termination
    15. G*-PDE* termination
    16. Restoration of cGMP
    17. Mouse model of cone phototransduction
    18. Concluding remarks
    19. References


    Glutamate and glutamate receptors in the vertebrate retina. by Vikki P. Connaughton
    1. General overview
    2. Histological techniques
    3. Glutamate receptors
    4. Ionotropic glutamate receptors
    5. Metabotropic glutamate receptors
    6. Glutamate transporters and transporter-like receptors
    7. Localization of glutamate receptors types in the retina
    8. Retinal neurons expressing ionotropic glutamate receptors
    9. Retinal neurons expressing metabotropic glutamate receptors
    10. Retinal neurons expressing glutamate transporters
    11. Summary and conclusions
    12. References


    Bipolar cell pathways in the vertebrate retina. by Ralph Nelson and Vikki P. Connaughton
    1. Introduction
    2. Different glutamate receptor types for ON and OFF bipolar cells
    3. Bipolar-cell axons: ON and OFF lamination in the inner plexiform layer
    4. Electrical properties, lateral inhibition, and synaptic release
    5. Behavioral and clinical implications of bipolar-cell abnormalities
    6. Visual processing under mGluR6 blockade of the ON bipolar cells
    7. Summary and conclusions
    8. References


    GABAc Receptors. by Haohua Qian

    1. Properties of GABA receptors
    2. GABAc responses on retinal neurons
    3. Pharmacology of GABAc receptors
    4. Molecular biology of GABAc receptors
    5. Function of GABAc receptors in the retina
    6. References


Retinal Neurogenesis: Early stages in the development of neurons and pathways

    Development of cell types and synaptic connections in the retina. by Josh Morgan and Rachel Wong.

    1. Introduction
    2. Sequence of circuit assembly in the vertebrate retina
    3. Structural assembly
    4. Development of pre- and postsynaptic processes
    5. Functional assembly
    6. Development of synaptic connectivity
    7. Spontaneous activity
    8. Light responses
    9. Summary


    Formation of Early Retinal Circuits in the Inner Plexiform Layer. by Kevin Ford and Marla Feller

    1. Introduction
    2. Neurotransmitters and Early Retinal Development
    3. Spontaneously Active Synaptic Circuits
    4. Retinal Waves
    5. Chemical Synaptic Transmission
    6. Gap Junctions
    7. Role of Activity in Formation of ON and OFF Circuitry
    8. References


    Neural basis of color vison

    Color Vision. by Peter Gouras.

    1. Introduction
    2. The Photoreceptors
    3. Chromatic and Achromatic Contrast
    4. Chromatic versus Achromatic Contrast
    5. Horizontal Cells
    6. Bipolar and Ganglion Cells
    7. Divariant Blue/Yellow Color Vision
    8. Color Constancy and Double Opponency
    9. Trivariant Color Vision
    10. The Cone Mosaic of Trivariant Color Vision
    11. A parallel system of achromatic ganglion cells
    12. The Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)
    13. Striate Cortex
    14. Pure Spectral Contrast
    15. Simple, Complex and Hypercomplex Double Opponent Cells
    16. The Stabilized Retinal Image
    17. Color Vision Beyond Striate Cortex
    18. Redness at short wavelengths
    19. Hering's Theory of Color Vision
    20. The Future
    21. References


    Psychophysics of Vision. by Michael Kalloniatis and Charles Luu

  1. Principles of Psychophysics
  2. Visual Acuity
  3. Temporal Resolution
  4. Light and Dark Adaptation
  5. The Perception of Colour
  6. The Perception of Space
  7. The Perception of Depth

    Brain Visual Areas

    Primary Visual Cortex. by Matthew Schmolesky

  1. Introduction
  2. Historical Perspective
  3. Basic Anatomy
  4. Neuronal Constituents
  5. The Cortical Layers
  6. Cytochrome Oxidase Labeling
  7. Feedforward and Feedback Pathways
  8. V1 Cortical Columns
  9. Retinotopic maps in V1
  10. Binocularity/Stereopsis
  11. Illusory Contour Perception
  12. Understanding Vision
  13. References

    Repair and Regeneration in the visual sytem

    Regeneration in the Goldfish Visual System. by Sam Nona

  1. Overview
  2. General features of the goldfish visual system
  3. Astrocytes in the retina
  4. Astrocytes in the optic nerve
  5. Astrocytes in the brain
  6. Axon regeneration in injured goldfish optic nerve
  7. Glial environment of axons in mammalian CNS
  8. Glial environment of axons in mammalian PNS
  9. Glial environment of axons in goldfish optic nerve
  10. The optic nerve as a model for axon regeneration studies
  11. Events that follow a crush to goldfish optic nerve
  12. Fish optic nerve vs rat optic nerve
  13. Regeneration in goldfish optic nerve distal to lesion
  14. Myelination of regenerating goldfish optic nerve axons in the lesion by Schwann cells
  15. Source of Schwann cells in regenerating goldfish optic nerve
  16. Thoughts on delayed remyelination in goldfish optic nerve
  17. Conclusions
  18. References

    Regeneration in the visual system of adult mammals. by Yves Sauve and Frederic Gaillard

    1. Introduction
    2. Reconstruction of Primary Visual Pathways
    3. Requirements for recovery of function following lesions of CNS pathways
    4. Promoting the survival of axotomized RGCs
    5. Promoting the growth of axotomized RGC axons
    6. Guidance of regenerating RGC axons towards their appropriate target
    7. Arborization and synapse formation by RGC axons regenerating into their CNS targets
    8. Generation of action potentials in target neurons
    9. Restoration of retinotopy
    10. Preservation of local and downstream circuitry
    11. Evidence for some level of recovery of function in the PN-bridged retinofugal pathways
    12. Visual Function Assessment
    13. References


    Fetal tissue allografts in the central visual system of rodents. by Frederic Gaillard and Yves Sauve

    1. Introduction
    2. The visual system of rodents: a brief overview
    3. Standard strategy for intracerebral transplantation: Graft morphology
    4. Neurons within the transplant can be driven by host eye visual stimulation
    5. Do grafts receive extensive afferents?
    6. Can grafts send afferents to host targets?
    7. Restoration of visual behavior
    8. References

    The Electroretinogram: ERG.

    The Electroretinogram: ERG. by Ido Perlman

    1. Historical view
    2. The electrical basis of ERG recordings
    3. The origin of the major ERG waves
    4. Additional minor components of the ERG
    5. Summary of the ERG components
    6. Factors affecting the ERG
    7. Analysis of the ERG
    8. References


    The Electroretinogram: Clinical Applications. by Donnell Creel

    1. Introduction
    2. The electroretinogram ERG
    3. ERG recording electrodes
    4. Light stimulation for ERGs
    5. ERG recording methods
    6. Oscillatory potentials OPs
    7. ERGs in retinitis pigmentosa-like diseases
    8. The ERG in cone dystrophies
    9. ERGS in retinal vascular disease
    10. Foreign bodies and trauma
    11. Drug toxicities
    12. Systemic disorders and the ERG
    13. The multifocal ERG mfERG
    14. The electrooculogram EOG
    15. References

    Visually Evoked Potentials: by Donnell J. Creel

    1. Introduction
    2. History
    3. Electrode locations on the scalp
    4. Sources of visual evoked potentials
    5. VEP Recording methods
    6. Maturation of VEPs with age
    7. VEP testing under anesthesia (E.U.A.)
    8. The influence of refractive error
    9. Examples of VEP recordings in different retina-brain pathologies
    10. Multifocal VEPs
    11. Sample patients tested with mfVEPs
    12. Summary
    13. References


Cell biology of retinal degenerations

    Cellular Remodeling in Mammalian Retina Induced by Retinal Detachment. by Steven K. Fisher, Geoffrey P. Lewis, Kenneth A. Linberg, Edward Barawid, and Mark R. Verardo

    1. Introduction
    2. Levels of Remodeling
    3. The Details of Cellular Remodeling after Detachment and Reattachment
    4. Protein expression in cone photoreceptors after detachment: analyzing the surviving cone photoreceptor array
    5. Remodeling of photoreceptors after reattachment
    6. Remodeling of second and third order neurons
    7. Remodeling of Ganglion Cells
    8. Glial cell Remodeling
    9. Retinal Remodeling after Detachment and Reattachment: an overview
    10. Future challenges
    11. References



      Age-Related Macular Degeneration. by Gregory S. Hageman, Karen Gehrs, Lincoln V. Johnson and Don Anderson

    Facts and Figures concerning the human retina